


DNA

by Fairylights4672



Series: Fingerprints [2]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: But they going international, F/F, F/M, I had too many ideas for Fingerprints, M/M, Ma detective bois are back, Mentions of past self harm and suicide probably, READ FINGERPRINTS FIRST, Sequels are usually shit but here we are, So now theres a sequel, There'll be trigger warnings before the chapters, Violence and shit, WE BACK BITCHES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 07:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 52,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15286719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairylights4672/pseuds/Fairylights4672
Summary: Two years later, the police are having trouble catching the criminals stealing and selling on thousands of dollars of jewellery and and paintings, and it's becoming out of control. They need the best detectives to figure out who's behind it, and so they call up New Yorks detective branch on a mission to find the well known detectives, who are their only hope.The one problem is, no one knows where they are.And they're running out of time.





	1. (One) Prologue

Fred pushed the door open with his foot, tripping his way into the room with his arms full of files and beads of sweat trailing down his forehead. The Chief Inspector of Police turned to him, nodding curtly as the younger man stuttered out a hello. Fred put his files down on the table in front of his commanding officer and saluted sharply with a heave of breath.

"Drop the formalities Fred," The Chief waved him off, "How are we looking?"

"I- I got a number," he breathed out, "Jorge, sir, he's in charge of the detective branch in New York." he recounted.

"And he knows where they are?"

"I'm not sure sir, I thought, you should call. Because of your position of course." he elaborated quickly, swallowing.

"Right well, I'll do it right now." The officer nodded, sitting down at his desk. Fred attacked his files, spreading them out on the table and searching frantically for the small slip of paper. He found it and quickly made his way over to the man, passing him the number and a phone he had ready. The inspector nodded curtly again in thanks, before tapping the number into the phone.

"Have there been any more robberies?" He asked as he inserted the number into the phone carefully.

"Yes sir, there was one last night. They stole a diamond necklace and a painting from an antique shop. Altogether, they were £100,000." Fred explained.

"And we have no other leads?"

"No sir." Fred wiped the sweat from his forehead hastily.

"How much money have they profited now?" The Chief grimaced, fearing the answer. Fred swallowed tightly, before answering.

"Altogether, in pounds, over three million." Fred winced inwardly, his superior groaning.

"Christ." he put his head in his hands. "Right, we really need to find them." he grumbled and hit call. Motioning to the chair next to him, Fred sat down, watching as the Chief put int on speaker phone. After one ring, the man on the other end picked up.

"Hello this is Captain Jorge Garcia from the detective branch here in New York, how can I help?" The thick American accent came from the other end.

"Hello Captain, this is Chief Inspector Matthew from the Metropolitan Police, I was just calling to ask you about four of your detectives?" The chief replied politely. Fred was sweating uncontrollably, knee shaking with nerves.

"Ah yes, which ones might they be?" Jorge asked.

"Let's see," The chief grabbed one of Fred's files and read the names around, "that would be Thomas Greene, Sam Newton, Brenda Garcia and Minho Kim. I understand they're currently on a year long break?"

"That's correct." Jorge confirmed.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard about the international crisis at the moment, with millions of pounds, or, dollars, in antiques and jewellery being stolen?"

"Yes, I'm aware of the situation." the man replied.

"Well, we're really struggling over here. And your four detectives are the best of the best, known internationally." The chiefs voice almost became pleading, "And we could really do with their help." I mean, of course I know they're on a break, but we could really use the helping hand."

"You want them to come to London to help you?" Jorge asked.

"Yes." Fred winced at the mans question, it didn't sound promising. "We'd pay for the flights, and of course, they could make a holiday of it, and bring their family and friends. We'd pay for it all, hotels, flights, everything." The chief explained.

"But they haven't been in work for a year." The american hummed.

"Well yes, and of course, you may not know where they are in the world, but if you do, as I say, their help would be greatly appreciated. They are the best in the world as you know."

"Well, you are correct, I might not know where they are."

"Of course," The chief nodded, "And I completely understand if you can't help us, but it would be greatly appreciated if there would be anything you could do to help us."

The end of the line went quiet, aside from a long hum of thought, and the clicks of a pen in the background. Fred held his breath, watching the Chief swallow tightly. Then came the quick typing of a computer and a few clicks of a mouse, before the squeak of a chair being sat back in.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do.”

 


	2. Two

"Another beer please." The man slid a five dollar bill over the bar, his friend rolling his eyes.

"You need to seriously stop getting me drunk." The brunette grumbled, taking the beer anyway. Minho sat back on his stool, looking smug with himself.

"You need to seriously loosen up mate." He replied, taking a swig from his own drink. "Brenda and Newt get their nights together, and we get ours together. We like drinking together, so you need to let me buy you a beer."

"You're too good to me." Thomas rolled his eyes, clinking his glass together with his friends and taking a swig from it. That was when someone sat themselves down in the stool next to Thomas', who took no notice and kept sipping from his drink.

"Hi." The brunette blinked at the voice next to him. There was a woman sat there, with long, flowing blond hair and large blue eyes. Almost like Sonya, just slightly more matured in the face and with flusher lips. Incredibly attractive.

"Hello." Thomas smile politely at her. Minho muttered something about the toilet and sauntered off, leaving the two alone. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. _'Maybe I can make a new friend'_

"You look lonely." the girl shrugged, eyes glued on the man in front of her. 

"Well, I have my friend, he's just gone to the toilet." He explained, taking another chug from his beer.

"Oh, right, of course," she laughs, the american chucking along with her. She held out her hand, detaching it from her wine, which Thomas took happily. "My name's Ruby."

"I'm Thomas." he exchanged names, returning his hand to the alcohol.

"You're in here a lot with your friend." She observed. "You like to get drunk?"

"No, not really," he shrugged her off, "Minho and I have pretty hectic jobs, so going to the bar is really the only time we get alone together." The brunette ran a hand through his hair. The girl nodded, sipping her wine.

"That's sweet It's good to have close friends. Strong relationships are important, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh of course." He nodded enthusiastically. "Extremely important."

"I'm in here because of my ex you see." She sighed slightly, shoulders slumping. "We broke up, and he's been put looking for one-night stands ever since. I've been feeling pretty lonely recently." Thomas frowned slightly, unsure as to why she was telling him her backstory, but he supposed some people open up easier than others did.

"That's terrible. I'm sure you'll find someone though. No one deserves to be lonely." He frowned.

"No, I agree. That's why I'm in here." Ruby explained. 

"To find friends?"

"Well, not exactly." She sighed, hand brushing against Thomas'. She glanced up through her eyelashes at him, fiddling with her hair with her are fingers. Thomas blinked at her for a moment, watching her slowly edge closer.

_'Oh. She's trying to hit on me.'_

"Well, I'm not really sure I can help you there." he laughed, moving his hand away. The woman stopped, pursing her lips.

"Why not?" she frowned, watching his face intently. Then it morphed into disgust. "Oh. You have a girlfriend, don't you?" She rolled her eyes, Thomas opening his mouth to explain, "Listen, babe, she doesn't have to know." She squeezed Thomas' hand, before taking a hold of it and leading it down to her side. "It can be our little secret." she whispered. Thomas jerked his hand away with a  visible grimace, standing hastily.

Glancing around, he spotted Minho watching them from the bathroom door quizzically. The american nodded toward the door, his friend nodding and heading toward it.

"Listen, Ruby, it's been a pleasure. But I have to go." Thomas nodded. "See you around."

-

Thomas unlocked the door to his apartment and slipped inside, toeing off his shoes and creeping to the fridge, hoping not to trip in the darkness. He poured himself a glass of water and chugged it down, setting the glass in the sink and heading toward his bedroom. 

He creaked the door open silently, closing it behind him. The american got changed in the darkness, tripping over his clothes, but managing to do it, fairly silently. Then, he lifted the covers up and slipped into bed.

The lump in bed rolled over, a mop of blond hair immediately nuzzling itself under his chin.

"You're home late." Newt mumbled sleepily as Thomas wrapped his arms around the blond, kissing the crown of his head quickly.

"I know, I lost track of time. I'm sorry."

"S'ok. D'you have fun?" The brit asked, words laced with tiredness.

"Yeah. Did you?"

"Mhm." Newt nodded, hair tickling Thomas' chin. "Jorge called when Bren' was round." he added. Thomas absentmindedly carded through the blond hair, closing his eyes.

"Oh yeah? What was it about?"

"They want the four of us back on the case. The robberies in London." he explained quietly.

"Us? What do they want us for?" Thomas opened his eyes, frowning in confusion.

"Dunno." The brit shrugged. "Bren' said he'd talk to Min', then we could talk about it tomorrow." he yawned.

"Right," Thomas nodded. "And they know we're not working?"

"They said we were their last hope." Newt curled up tightly into a ball, the brunette humming.

"Well you won't be any help if you don't get any sleep. So shush and close those eyes."

"Hypocrite. _You_ woke me up in the first place."

"You're not supposed to be talking." The american scolded lightly.

"Sorry Dad."

"Ew."


	3. Three

Newt pushed open the door to the detective branch in New York City for the first time in a year, followed tightly by Thomas, Brenda and Minho. Glancing around, he noticed a lot of new faces. Young, eager, sharp eyes, scattered and frantic. Their old desks had been left the way the four of them kept them, only cleared of personal items.

A year prior, after the four of them had been claimed the best detectives internationally, they had decided to all take a break, to destress and work on their personal lives. All four had taken the gap year to work on themselves, and spend more time with their families, which had become more of a priority after the events two years before with Roger and Sonya's kidnapping.

When the door hit the wall, all faces glanced up, younger eyes widening. A few gasped at the four, straightening immediately in an attempt to look presentable. Newt pretended not to notice, making a beeline for Jorge's office.

"Good to see you bastards again." Gally chuckled, earning a laugh and a smack on the back.

"Still looking' ugly." Thomas muttered, the other man shoving him as they walked past, Brenda was trying to keep a straight face at all of those new, impressionable detectives, seemingly thinking the four of them were some almighty, serious hard workers, when in reality, they found enjoyment in throwing grapes into each others mouths and coming up with various lizard puns to piss of the blond.

Newt stopped abruptly outside the mans office, knocking sharply. The familiar voice came from inside, granting them access. The brit pushed open the door, feeling everyones eyes on them as they all shuffled inside and closed the door behind them. 

The blond grinned at his old friend, shaking hands warmly with the older man and exchanging a friendly greeting, before Jorge moved on to Minho and Thomas.

"Hi Dad." Brenda nodded to her adopted father, drawing up a chair and propping up her heavy boots on his desk. Jorge sighed, disappointedly, but made no move to swat her feet away, instead offering chairs to the three other men. Clearing his throat, he sat down on the other side of the desk and adjusted his files, watching the men take their seats.

"Well, it's lovely to see you all again." Jorge started, smiling warmly at all four of them in turn. "Now, as you know, there have been a series of robberies in London, of millions of dollars worth of antiques, jewellery, paintings, that sort of thing." He started vaguely, "I got a call from Th Chief Inspector of Police of the Metropolitan Police, asking me to find you. He believes you're their last hope."

"They want us to go to _London_?" Thomas frowned, setting his chin on his hand. Jorge nodded, humming.

"Yes, it seems that way. I've been reassured that they'll pay for flights, hotels. The Chief told me that you could make a holiday of it, if you so wish, as long as you get the job done. You can bring whoever, however many."

"Whoever?" Brenda repeated.

"However many?" Minho cocked his head, mind already whirring at how much trouble they could get into.

"Yes, within reason of course." Jorge nodded, Newt scoffing at the frown of disappointment that was cast onto his best friends features. 

"Well, have they got any good leads?" The brit spoke up. "Theres not much point throwing us into a case where we have absolutely nothing to go off of." His boss nodded, fishing through his files for a moment.

"Well, we do have a few leads." He pulled out a sheet of paper, turning it toward the four detectives. "This is Sheila Warrany." They leaned forward to get a good look at the woman. She was a tight lady, with greying hair and a huge pearl necklace. "She's a millionaire, but no one can figure out where she got the money from. She was also within a two mile radius of one of the robberies the night of the incident."

"Not much to go off of." Thomas murmured, furrowing his brow at the picture.

"No, it's not." Jorge grabbed another file, covering the first picture with it. This was an older man, bald with a large smile. "Sol Maine, incredibly smart, wealthy off of his own company. He lives close to an art gallery where a painting was stolen, and he was seen in the same gallery the day before. Still, not much." He sighed frustratedly, Newt frowning deeply.

'The final suspect, is this man." He covered Sol with another photo, and Newt's breath caught. He was their age, with dark, black hair and piercing, green eyes, a deep set frown.

"Charlie Scott." Newt murmured, more to himself than anyone else. All eyes went to him, Thomas' frown getting deeper.

"You know him?" Brenda asked. The brit shook himself from his daze, glancing up sheepishly.

"Would you be pissed if I said I dated him?"

"Jesus, you have bad taste in men, mate." Minho groaned, running a hand over his face.

"Hey!" Thomas smacked his friends arm, Newt squeezing his bicep.

"Tommy, you're my first nice boyfriend, we know this." 

"Honestly at this point I wouldn't be surprised if you'd dated a mass murderer." Minho grumbled, Brenda scoffing.

"Listen, Charlie's a really nice bloke." The blond tried to reason, before turning back to his boss. "What's he a suspect for?"

"Well," The man sat back, frowning, "I'm not so sure he's a really nice bloke. Kid's got three previous charges of assault and drunken misdemeanours, and ever since the robberies started, he's bought a new house and spent most of his time hiring prostitutes."

Thomas turned to Newt, with a _'explain yourself'_ look, but the blond only shrugged helplessly back at him.

"He was nice in college."

"I thought you moved here when you were six?" Brenda piped up with a frown, the brit nodding on conformation.

"I did, he went to college in NY. We stopped dating because he moved back to England." Newt explained, Jorge leaning forward and picking up his file, scanning through it quickly.

"Well, that's not on his file."

"If Newt dated him, we should definitely investigate." Thomas shrugged, earning a smack and a pout. "Sorry, but Min's right, you had really shit choice in men."

"Look," The blond attempted to brush off the comment and move on, "Are we gonna go investigate or not?" He leaned forward, Jorge putting down the file and shrugging.

"That's up to you guys."

Newt glanced around at his friends, who were all glancing back at each other. When no one spoke up, the blond rolled his eyes, sitting back.

"I'm in."

"Then I'm going." Thomas added without a moments hesitation, the brits cheeks heating slightly.

"Alright fine, let's go see the fucking queen." Minho groaned.

"I _have_ always wanted to try a crumpet." Brenda hummed with a grin.


	4. Four

"Newt hurry up we have to go!" Thomas called, rubbing at his eyes. There was a call from their bedroom, and the brunette groaned at his boyfriends lack of preparation, and glanced at his watch.

5:27AM. They had an hour.

He was about to call again when the blond skidded into the room, wheeling a suitcase along behind him, out of breath, and with some of the worst bed hair Thomas had ever seen. The american stifled a giggle, pretending to be mad at the blond.

"What took you so long!?"

"Sorry, sorry, my leg cramped up." Newt muttered, grabbing his keys. 

"Wha- Newt! You're supposed to tell me when that happens!" He scolded, closing and locking the front door behind the blond. Newt laughed sheepishly, beginning to make his way toward the elevator.

"It was only a couple seconds, it was nothing." he waved the brunette off, who huffed in disagreement. The blond wheeled his suitcase into the elevator, Thomas following and pressing the button for the ground floor. "So where are the others meeting us?"

"At the terminal." He murmured, running his fingers through the blonds thick locks in an attempt to flatten them. Newt hummed at the notion, Thomas standing back to admire his handy work. "Perfect." he nodded. The brit huffed, shaking his head to mess it up once again. "What did you do that for?" The american pouted, huffing as he pulled his bag from the elevator, across the lobby. 

"It wasn't right." The blond tried to reason.

"You're not right."

"Cut me deep Tommy, cut me real deep."

-

"You're late." Teresa scolded, clearly having been pacing back and forth outside their gate. The brunette pointed an accusing finger at his boyfriend, who was happily munching away at a doughnut, lost in his own world.

" _He_ wouldn't stop complaining until I bought him a doughnut."

"That's an abusive relationship." Sonya shrugged, earning a finger from her older brother. 

"Well, it's a good thing everyone's here now." Teresa sighed happily, slumping in her chair.

"Where's Mary and Mrs N?" Newt frowned, ripping off a chunk of his doughnut and dropping it into Sonya's outstretched palm.

"They went to the loo." The girl explained.

"Remind me again why you invited Mrs Norris?" Minho asked, from where he was eyeing the brits food.

"She hasn't had a holiday since her husband died. And she told me she's never been to England. Said she wanted to 'become one with my culture'." Newt explained, finishing his doughnut and glancing around for a bin. 

"I think it's sweet." Brenda piped up from where she was furiously typing something into her phone.

"Thank you Bren'!" Newt grinned, "See, the bible says love thy neighbour, so I'm taking my ex neighbour on holiday."

"Mate," Minho scoffed, "You're not exactly the most religious person in the world. You and Thomas fu-"

"Minho!" Thomas cut him off sharply, glaring daggers into his soul, before nodding toward his younger brother, blinking at them with wide eyes. Minho blinked at Chuck, mouth still open. 

"...You and Thomas..have..fun," he glanced toward the two, who were looking back expectantly at him, "....in, ball pits. And everyone knows, in the bible it says..'thou shall not play in a ball pit....with another man'." 

"Oh would you look at that I've got to go." Newt turned and walked away quickly to try and find a bin, or to suppress his giggles, Thomas wasn't sure. 

"What's this about ball pits?" Mary asked from behind him, Thomas turning on his heel to see his mother and Newt's elderly neighbour. Brenda burst into cackles, Thomas going red. Minho went redder.

"They're just talking about all the fun Thomas and Newt have in ball pits together." Brenda managed to snort out. The brunette made a mental note to dig himself a hole to bury himself in. Mary nodding knowingly at her son, pressing her lips together in an attempt to stop laughing.

"Ah, I see. Well, ball pits can be very dangerous T." Newt wandered back over, managing to have recomposed himself, only to frown in confusion at his boyfriends' mother. "It's important to take the necessary precautions in a ball pit."

"I fucking hate you all." Thomas hissed under his breath, the brit stifling a snort in the americans shoulder.

"But, never forget, that both people have to want to be in the ball pit," Mrs Norris added. Newt immediately stopped laughing, glancing up at the woman. "If they don't want to go in the ball pit, don't force them in the ball pit." She advised. Thomas practically felt Newt's face heat up against his shoulder, the brit groaning. 

"That's very important." Sonya added, only making Newt's groan louder.

"Alright, alright, this is relentless." Teresa laughed, ushering the attention away from the blushing couple. "The gate's open, chop chop." Their family and friends sauntered past with sniggers and laughs, Thomas and Newt waiting until the end.

"Was it a mistake inviting them?" The blond asked, whipping out his passport and taking the man's hand.

"Definitely." Thomas sighed, taking out his own. Newt found the page, the brunette pointing to his picture. He was probably four years younger, looking young with squishy cheeks and large eyes. The american found it hard to believe it was only a year before they met. "Aw, you're so cute."

"Shut up." The blond grumbled, glancing at Thomas'. "Tommy, you look hungover."

"Yeah, I was." he admitted. Newt laughed, throwing his head back.

"That's fucking amazing."

"Language Newton!" Mary whipped around, dramatically clamping her hands over Chucks' ears.

"Mom, I know there's no ball pits." The younger boy said, rather loudly, due to his inability to hear how loud he was being. "We learnt about sex last year!" He continued loudly, earning a few looks around. Newt snorted again, Mary blushing and apologising to the people around her profusely.

-

Thomas sighed, sitting in the window seat as the plane ran it's way up the runway, ready for the departure. Newt was humming next to him, drumming his thumb on Thomas' hand with some beat he was listening to. The brunette squeezed his hand, tight enough to gain his attention, because his partner glanced at him.

"Tommy, you alright?" He asked, running his thumb over the brunette's skin and taking one headphone out.

"Yeah." The american sighed again, a little shakily. "Just not a big fan of taking off is all." he admitted sheepishly. Newt immediately tugged his other earphone out. The blond grabbed his bag from underneath his seat, pulling out a book. Then he picked up his phone, scrolling for a moment, before nodding in approval. He then shook off his jacket and rolled it up into a lump.

The brit worked quickly, handing his boyfriend the book and leaning over to place the jacket lump against the wall, blocking Thomas' view of the window, since they weren't allowed to close the plastic shield. Then, he put the headphones in, cocking his head at the question of song choice.

ABBA. Of course.

Newt took Thomas' free hand, opening the first page of the book for him. The brunette glanced at him, as he felt the plane begin to speed up toward take off. 

"I love you."

"I love you too." The blond smiled. Thomas leaned forward, kissing his boyfriend slowly. Newt sighed against his lips, running his fingers over Thomas' scalp. The american cupped his partners jaw gently, humming contently.

When they broke apart, the plane was in the air.


	5. Five

Newt jumped out of the car, rolling his eyes. His three colleagues had been gaping out of the window at all of the sights for the past hour, Thomas getting especially excited about Big Ben, which Newt thought was really adorable.

"Guys, we're here." He egged the three out, ushering them across the pavement, "I promise I'll take you on a tour tomorrow, but come on, work, chop chop." He clapped his hands together, snapping them out of their daze.

"Right, right." Minho nodded, glancing up. They were outside a huge building, their driver emerging from the car behind them.

"If you'd like to follow me." He nodded politely to them, crossing over the threshold of the large, sleek building with the foreigners (Well, for the most part), in tow. "Chief Inspector Matthew is expecting you."

"What happens after we talk to him?" Brenda asked, blowing a bubble with her gum as she glanced around. Newt noticed the glanced of disgust, and he felt the urge to snort, but also roll his eyes. He knew exactly what these kind of people would be thinking.

 _'These are our best bet? God, Americans are so obnoxious and loud. This is such a waste of time and money.'_ The blond noticed one man glance at the belts, frowning at the guns resting there. He turned his head back to tune into the conversation.

"-to your rooms, in the hotel down the street. Your guests have already been taken there. Then, it's up to you really." The man explained, leading them up flights of stairs. Whilst he walked with pace, long, quick strides, and Minho and his partner worked to keep up, Thomas waited for Newt at the top of the stairs, who much preferred to take his time, instead of falling down the stairs in front of all the upper class snobs.

The brunette shot him a large grin of excitement, Thomas had a habit of getting excited about new things, and extended his hand out. Newt took it and made it up the last couple of steps, letting Thomas gently pull him along to catch up with their guide, who was still power walking through corridors, making sharp lefts and not turning until the very last second. Newt wondered if he was a robot.

Then the man came to a stop, abrupt enough for Thomas to slam into Brenda, who shot him a glare. The man did a once over of the jet-lagged, gum chewing and caffeine-pumped group with tight lips, before knocking once sharply on the door.

"Come in." Came a gravelly voice from inside. The man, keeping his eyes on the group, opened the door and motioned for them to enter. The four went in, the door closing behind Newt.

The room was large, with two men behind a desk. One was a little younger than them, with wild ginger hair and a dishevelled suit, clutching pages upon pages of files. He smiled sheepishly at them, Newt smiling warmly back and then turning to the other man. He was a confident man, suit pristinely crisp, with a greying moustache and a square jaw. He stood up upon their entry, holding a hand out toward them.

Minho sauntered forward first, shaking the larger man's hand firmly, then watching as the younger one hastily wiped his sweaty palms on his suit, and shook hands with the foreigner, who laughed good-naturedly. Brenda and Thomas shook their hands, before Newt took the large man hand. The blond was fairly tall, but this man seemed to be as tall as the ceiling, and quite intimidating. The brit much preferred shaking the hand of the awkward ginger.

"Thank you all for getting here on such short notice." The large man said. "I am Chief Inspector Matthew, and this," he motioned to the ginger, "Is Inspector Waters, but you can call him Fred."

"Hi Fred." Thomas nodded toward the man, who swallowed tightly and shot him back a nervous smile.

"Now, Fred has never been on a case before, but, he is good at technology, so, if you need any help with that sort of thing, I offer him as help." The chief nodded, Fred giving them another awkward smile. 

"Thanks mate." Minho hummed. Fred's eyes widened, and he glanced toward his commanding officer, clearly not used to this sort of informality. The Chief Inspector seemed taken aback for a moment, before deciding to let it slide. They needed them anyway, so if he had to put up with impoliteness, then so be it.

"I hope you've all been briefed on the case and suspects?" He continued briskly. Thomas scoffed, earning a grumble and a shove from his boyfriend.

_"Oh, we know about the suspects."_

"Is there something wrong?" The large man asked with a frown.

"Our Newtie just happened to get in bed with your prime suspect." Brenda laughed, the brit rolling his eyes.

"Shut up," he muttered, before turning to the man who had his eyebrows raised in expectation, "We used to go out. But it's fine, if anything it gives us an opportunity to get into his inner circle."

"Or you leave me for a criminal." The brunette shrugged.

"You keep pissin' me off I might fucking consider it." He crossed his arms over his chest, catching the concerned and slightly skeptical look Fred gave his superior at all the swearing.

"You two are.." the ginger motioned toward the squabbling couple, who turned toward him.

"He's my bitch." Thomas shrugged, Brenda almost choking on her gum. Chief Inspector Matthew was slowly beginning to look dead inside, and Newt was fairly certain he'd given up all hope, and was wondering how _in the hell_ , the people in front of him were supposed to be the best detectives in the world.

'Testin' my patience Thomas Greene, I will leave you in this damn country and go back home."

"This _is_ your home."

"No, this is my parents home. And I prefer to spend my time with people who don't have sticks up their asses, and don't disown their children for, you know, being who they are." he shrugged casually.

"Can I get a souvenir?" Minho asked clearly bored with the conversation.

"I saw a souvenir shop outside a tube station." Brenda piped up.

"Can we go on the tube?" Thomas asked.

 _"You do not want that._ " Newt groaned. "It's so gross."

'Yeah, and the Northern Line's down." Fred added. The blond cocked his head toward the ginger.

"Is it?"

"Yeah, there was a thunderstorm and it brought down part of the track. We had some really bad rain last month." The man nodded back.

"I _did_ see that," Newt noted, "I mean, where can a guy get some Vitamin D around here?" He laughed, Fred joining in with a scoff.

"Tell me about it! Do you know, this is the worst summer rain wise, we've had in ten years?" The ginger explained.

"Is it really?'

"And here we see the two brits in their natural habitat, talking about the weather." Minho piped in his best David Attenborough voice. Newt shoved him, Thomas tacking on.

"This is literally the most English thing I've ever heard, Newt what have you become?"

"This is it boys," Brenda sighed, "Newt's been reunited with his people, we must say goodbye." The blond groaned toward them, Fred laughing. The kid was already growing on him. 

"Ahem," The Chief Inspector cleared his throat, the five younger peoples attentions turning back to him, "Do you have any questions? _About the case?_ "

"Yeah actually," Newt nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, "Where can we find Charlie Scott?"


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aHHH i'm sorry this has taken a while to get going, it's ok we're at the case now I promise lmao

"This is stupid." Thomas muttered, his boyfriend smiling fondly at him.

"Come on Tommy, you know this is the smartest way to do it." he squeezed his bicep reassuringly, the brunette only groaning against the wall of the alleyway they were in.

"Our plan is for you to flirt your way back into his inner circle?" He recounted skeptically, "Why can't we just kidnap him and torture him until he coughs up." The american huffed saltily.

"Because that's illegal." Newt scoffed. "I promise I'll make it up to you. You know I don't want to do this as much as you don't want me too, but this is the most foolproof way." Thomas rolled his eyes with another huff, glancing into the street.

'Alright, you're up." The blond kissed him quickly on the cheek and gave him what was almost an apologetic smile, before turning on his heel and shrugging his large jacket closer around his shoulders. He began walking, head buried in his phone. The brunette watched as the man expertly ran his way into their target.

Charlie Scott stumbled backward, holding his arms out as the blond tripped his way into him. His large, green eyes sparkled with concern and shock as he righted the blond, who glanced up at him.

"C-Charlie?" The brit gasped, the other man blinking in shock back at him for a few moments.

"Newt!" He burst into a dazzling grin, lip piercing becoming all the more obvious. _'Ugh. Why does he have to be good looking?'_ "What are you doing back here?"

"I'm on holiday." The blond smiled warmly, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. You're looking good." 

"Thank you." He smiled. "You're looking great too." Charlie smiled back, Newt moving his weight onto his good foot. 

"So how have you been? What's going on?" He asked fondly. Thomas sucked in a deep breath when Charlie glanced Newt up and down, running his tongue over his teeth. The blond pretended not to notice, keeping up his large smile.

"Oh, you know, so so. I've got a job as a bartender, downtown. Got an apartment, living just fine." he shrugged nonchalantly. "What about you?"

"Well, ya know," Newt shrugged, "Apartment back in NY. I'm working as a secretary right now, in the detective branch." He explained, pocketing his hands.

"Oh yeah?" Charlie hummed, "You seeing any one right now?"

_'Yes he fucking is.'_

"Nah. Not for a while now." the lies rolled easily off of the brits tongue, his ex nodding thoughtfully.

"That's surprising. Thought someone would have snapped you up by now."

_'Yeah bitch, they have, hands off.'_

"No," Newt laughed, "but thank you." he smiled warmly at the dark headed man, who glanced at his watch hastily.

"Hey, I gotta go," he sighed, "But, you think I could give you my number? It's been really nice to get back in touch with you." he offered, holding out a hand for Newt's phone. Thomas froze. They were screwed if Charlie saw their texts, floods of questions would be asked that Thomas knew Newt was definitely not prepared for. If Newt realised, he didn't let it on, and handed Charlie his phone. 

"Sure." 

"Thanks." Charlie smiled, tapping a few times. "Who's Tommy?" He asked with a light chuckle. _Shit._

"Ugh," Newt groaned, "Crazy ex. Won't fucking leave me alone." he laughed. Thomas silently thanked the blonds incredible acting skills. 

"Why don't you block him then?" Charlie frowned, tapping in his number and handing the blond his phone back.

"He stil has some of my shit, so I have to text him about it. I'm tryna convince him to give me back some of my clothes, but he's not budging just yet." he laughed heartedly, the other man nodding in agreement with a chuckle.

"Can't beat a crazy ex." he smiled. "Well, I've got to get going, but I'll text you, yeah?"

"Yeah!" The brit nodded enthusiastically, watching the man step past him and smile.

"Awesome! I'll see you then." Charlie turned and kept walking. He passed the alleyway in which Thomas was watching, and the brunette considered throttling the smirk off of his face.

Two minutes later, Thomas wandered from his hiding place, Newt turning and smiling softly.

"Well done." The american offered, taking his boyfriend's hand.

"Thanks." Newt laughed, turning to look at his partner. "Tommy, you're not jealous are you? You know I love you more than anything?" He tried, squeezing the brunettes hand tightly.

"I know," Thomas admitted, "I just hate it."

"So do I." The blond sighed, "But you have to trust me."

"I do trust you."

"I know, I know." he nodded, "Now come on, I have to make it up to you." he tugged slightly on the other mans hand, Thomas cocking his head in confusion.

"What you on about?"

"Well, can't come to London without the grand tour." he grinned back, "So where to first?"

"You tell me," The american chuckled, "Wheres the best places to go?"

"Hmm."

-

"See, and that," Newt pointed toward a large, stone building, far away and across the large river. "Is the Tower of London."

"That's where they executed people?" Thomas asked, leaning on the rail.

"Yeah." The brit nodded. "The crown jewels are kept in there. Y'know, the crown and sceptre and shit."

"Has the Queen worn them?" He asked, Newt nodding. "So where's Buckingham palace?" He asked. Newt hummed, taking his hand and leading him to the other side of the compartment, as the wheel got to it's highest point in the sky, and stopped with a soft jolt.

"Over there, see?"

"That's huge." Thomas blinked at the large palace in the distance, the waving flag just visible outside.

"Yeah." Newt nodded, letting some kid crouch down where he'd been stood.

"So the Queen's in there?"

"Well I dunno about right now, but there'll be some royal family in there for sure." he shrugged, watching the city from the clouds. Thomas frowned toward the palace.

"Isn't it dangerous? To have the royal family so close to the public. Like, what if someone just sees them in the window and shoots them through it?" He asked, Newt laughing softly.

"This is England Rambo, no one has guns." he shrugged, "And even if they did, the Royal Guard would take them down before they could even load it."

"Newt?" He asked after a pause.

"Thomas?"

"What's with the huge hats?" He asked. The blond cracked into a scoff, grinning fondly at his inquisitive boyfriend.

"I dunno babe, I really don't."


	7. Seven

Newt put the keycard between his teeth, pushing open the door to their hotel room. Flicking on the light switch, he glanced around.

"Holy shit." He heard Thomas whistle behind him, the brunette letting the door click shut. The room was huge, with a lavish, marble bathroom jutting off of the side of it. The bed was huge, pristinely made and with a large window taking up most of the back wall. Opposite the bed was a flat screen TV, with a large chez lounge sat underneath it.

"I could get used to this." Newt hummed approvingly, propping his suitcase against the wall to unpack when he wasn't too tired.

"You saying my apartment isn't as lavish as this?" Thomas put a hand to his chest in mock hurt, the brit scoffing.

"It's our apartment, and no, it's gorgeous." he wandered toward the bed, ready to practically fall asleep standing up.

"It's my apartment buttercup, you don't pay for it." The brunette began snooping through cupboards and the mini fridge.

"Because you won't let me pay!" He protested. "And I pay for shopping."

"Groceries."

"We're not in the States anymore. My plain, my rules." The blond teased, jumping onto the bed and collapsing into it. "Ugh I am gonna get a good nights sleep in here." he muttered into the pillow.

"You're really tired, aren't you?" His boyfriend chuckled fondly, sitting down on the chez lounge.

"I'm really bad at dealing with jet lag." He groaned, feeling his phone go off in his back pocket. He glanced at the screen.

 **[From Sonya: Are you next door?]**  a knock came from the wall next to him, and Thomas frowned in confusion.

"Sonya and Mrs N are next door." 

**[To Sonya: yeah lol]**

**[From Sonya: Haha, Mary and Chuck are on your other side. No dick for Newtie, whoops]**

**[To Sonya: Sonya Newton!]**

"Your mum and Chuck are on the other side too." He reported back, Thomas rolling his eyes with a groan. "This bed's really comfy as well." The blond put his phone on the bedside table, rolling onto his back.

"Come on babe, we both know having them either side of us isn't gonna stop anything." Thomas scoffed, Newt only laughing in agreement.

"Yeah, that's pretty fair."

-

"So, we did a background check on that guy, Sol." Brenda explained, taking a swig from her beer, "He's pretty much a dead end. Got a fairly solid alibi, we just need security camera footage to confirm it, and he's basically out of the picture." Minho ripped some bread, dipped it in the oil and vinegar, and passed it to his partner, who ate it quickly.

"How did everything go with Charlie?" Minho asked, eating some of the bread too.

"Well, we got his number." Thomas hummed, "Said he was workin' at a bar somewhere down town. Pretty vague about everything." 

"He'll be a hard nut to crack. But we'll get there, don't you worry." Newt hummed, popping an olive in his mouth. Brenda scrunched up her nose in disgust, her partner sticking his tongue out in repulsion. 

"How can you eat those?" The girl asked.

"I like them." The brit defended, eating another one. The two visibly recoiled, Thomas scoffing.

"I gagged the first time I ate an olive." Minho watched in horror as Newt spat out the stone and put it back on the plate. Brenda laughed to herself, nudging her partner in the ribs.

"I bet Newt doesn't gag, get it?" The detective looked at her blankly for a few seconds, before laughing. 

"Ohhh, yeah, that's funny."

"Are you like, five?" Newt asked, spearing an olive and waving it in their faces. Minho practically screeched, Brenda jumping back in her seat.  The blond just laughed, before eating the fruit. Thomas hummed.

"I've never tried an olive."

"Do you want to?" His boyfriend asked, Minho shaking his head furiously.

"Don't do it Thomas, don't give in." Thomas just rolled his eyes and speared one of them with a cocktail stick, analysing it.

"Don't bite down. And don't swallow the stone." The blond advised, watching as Thomas put it into his mouth. The three watched his face, contort into confusion, and then skepticism, before nodding in approval.

"I like it." Brenda gagged, Newt grinning.

"That's great, but spit it out."

"Don't swallow Thomas." Minho scoffed, his partner snorting. The brit just rolled his eyes, groaning. That was when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Charlie's smiling face.

"O-oh, Charlie!" He almost spluttered, "What are you doing here?" _'Fuck fuck fuck. I'm not prepared at all, shit quick what do I do??'_

"I'm just coming to pick up my sister. She's a waitress here." The man grinned at him. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Yeah." He swallowed tightly, forcing a smile.

"So, who's this?" The suspect motioned toward the other three people at the table. Newt turned to them, biting down on his lip. _'THINK NEWTON THINK. NO NO NOT RELATIVES THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT RACES SHIT. FRIENDS?? THATS EASY TO GET AWAY WITH RIGHT??'_

"My friends," He coughed, "From, from college." He nodded. Not detectives. That would raise suspicion. "This is Brenda, Minho and, T-" He stopped himself short. Not Thomas. Thomas was a crazy ex. "Tyyyler. Yep, Tyler." he smiled toward Charlie, who was seemingly unaware that the detective was referencing a bus heist. 

"Well, it's nice to meet you." He smiled to the new faces. "I'm Charlie, Newt's friend." he nodded toward the blond, who was on the verge of having a stroke. The three all chorused back greetings, Charlie smiling fondly back toward Newt."You didn't text me Newtie."

"I was really jet lagged. Sorry," he apologised, swallowing down the disgust at him using the nickname, "I just had a really long nap." he admitted.

"That's alright," The man shrugged, "Well, I'll text you then. See you around," he had the nerve to wink at the blond, smiling at the rest of them before sauntering away. All four of them seemed to let out a huge breath, Minho slamming his head onto the table and the blond burying his head in his boyfriends shoulder with a groan.

"That was awful." he grumbled.

"Well done Newt," Thomas squeezed his hand, Minho lifting his head off of the table, some people staring.

"He wasn't even being a mean, but the guy already seems like a massive dick." The detective hissed, Brenda nodding.

"Nasty piece of work I reckon." She commented. Newt grabbed the drinks menu.

"How much is another bloody beer?"

-

Newt ran his fingers through the brunettes hair, kissing him back passionately. The two stumbled over each other in the dark, the blond tripping backward onto the bed, never once breaking contact with his boyfriend. The whole thing tasted too much like cheap beer and slightly like olives, but Newt was too drunk to care.

"Tommy," he mumbled when the brunette drew back, dark eyes sparkling in the low light, only cast by the moonlight.

"Mm?" His boyfriend blinked slowly, pupils dilated as he pressed soft kisses up Newt's jaw.

"You'd tell me, if there was any issue right?" He mumbled, hands resting on the americans shoulder blades.

"What d'ya mean buttercup?" Thomas murmured back, drawing back to frown confusedly at the blond.

"I mean with our relationship. If you ever wanted anything to be different or better. If I did anything that made you upset or uncomfortable, you'd tell me right? You'd be brutally honest?"

"'Course I would." He frowned back. "Babe, where's this coming from?" He asked, sitting up and allowing the brit to do the same. Newt didn't, still lying on his back with a sigh. So Thomas' frown got deeper and he leaned over to turn on the lamp, laying next to the blond. Newt turned his head toward Thomas, who leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"I just-" he sighed again, taking Thomas' hand and kissing it gently, before keeping it held to his lips as he thought out his sentence, "With all this Charlie thing, I started to think about how unhappy I was in relationships before you. It was never equal, and I was afraid to speak my mind. There was no trust, no care, nothing. And, I want that with you. I've never wanted anything more than to have the best relationship I can with you. And I know I'm gonna make the effort for it to be good, but I just need reassurance that you'll do that too. That you don't feel afraid to speak your mind, that you don't feel like we're unequal. Because the last thing I would ever want is for you to feel like I did. I'd never want to do that to you." he murmured against Thomas' hand, shoulders slumping slightly. The brunette frowned deeply, shuffling closer.

"Newt." the blond met his eye, "Our relationship is all I could ever want it to be. And you make me so so happy. There's not one thing I would change."

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do. And if I had a problem, I'd tell you and we'd work through it together." 

"Because that's what we've always done?" Newt smiled, catching on.

"Because that's what we've always done." Thomas smiled fondly, raising his eyebrows, "And why else?"

"'Cuz that's what partners are for."


	8. Eight

Thomas sighed, taking a swig from his coffee. 

“So sweetheart, how are you finding England?” Mary asked, leaning forward to be heard over the bustle of the cafe. Thomas hummed over the lip of his coffee cup, thinking for a moment. 

“I like it. It’s nice. I like the atmosphere. What about you Mom?” He asked, Mary grinning.

”I think it’s wonderful. I love all the culture behind it, they have such a rich history. And Chuck’s so excited about everything.” She smiled excitably. “Thank you for taking us on this trip T, it was incredibly sweet of you and Newt.”

”And well needed if you ask me,” He hummed, watching Mary stir her tea. “You haven’t taken a break from work since Roger left.”

”Well someone’s got to pay for Chuck.” She shrugged, her son reaching across the table and taking her hand. 

“Let me help. I make a shit ton of money Mom, so let me help pay for you and Chuck. I could put money into his tuition, I could help save up for college.” He tried, the woman shaking her head. 

“No, no. I couldn’t let you do that darling. You already have two people to provide for.”

”Only because I won’t let Newt pay half for our apartment.” He countered with a shrug.  

“Why not?” She asked.

”Because I don’t want him too. He’s got no money coming in from his parents, no inheritance, no nothing. And he and Sonya have to pay for eachother. He’s almost single handedly paying for her to go to College. If he had to pay for the apartment as well, the two of them would be in a bit of financial trouble. He knows that, and yet he still insists. So he pays for the groceries.” 

“That’s so thoughtful of you Thomas.” She smiled warmly at her son, squeezing his hand. 

“Not really. I just don’t want him to have any more to worry about. I mean, that’s kinda why we took the year break in the first place.” He explained, stopping to take another sip of coffee. His mother’s dark eyes sparkled with confusion, and she cocked her head slightly to the side.

”What do you mean?” 

“Well,” he put his cup down and cleared his throat. “Last year, Newt was kinda going through a really bad depressive episode. He wasn’t sleeping, couldn’t focus, and kept putting himself under more and more pressure. One day I got home and he’d just collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. So I went to Jorge, and explained what was going on. We decided that the four of us could take a break. It was better that we all did, so Newt didn’t know it was just about him, and so he didn’t feel pressured to make as quick a recovery as possible to get back to work. So we ended up taking a year break on full pay.” He explained, Mary frowning. 

“And is Newt feeling better?”

”Yeah. He is. He’s looking after himself a lot better.” Thomas hummed. 

“And how are the two of you? Everything’s going well?” She tried to hide the fond smile gracing her lips when she thought about how happy her son was with his boyfriend. 

“Yeah. Yeah it is. Things are a little rough here and there, but that’s just the job, and we’ll get through that. I just need to get over my own insecurities.” Mary frowned in concern, so he preceded to explain. “Basically, for our case, one of Newt’s exes is our primary suspect, so the plan is for him to flirt his way back into this guys inner circle. And it just makes me uncomfortable.” 

“It makes you jealous?” His mother tried to paraphrase.

”No, not exactly. Besides, why would I be jealous? I’m the one who goes to bed with him every night, and I’m the one he loves, so that’s kinda stupid.” He shrugged. “I dunno what it is. Maybe insecurity, that I’m not enough for him or something. Stupid thoughts about how he’ll realise this other guy treated him better when they were together, and he’ll go off with this good-looking, English bloke. I guess that’s what it is.” 

“But there’s no point in that T.” Mary explained, “you can’t really see what it’s like unless you’re on the outside looking in. Newt only sees you. He doesn’t realise it, but in a crowd, he makes a beeline for you. He watches you when you talk and has the biggest smile on his face. And when he wants to hold your hand, he really hesitantly holds one finger, before you take his hand, and he’s nervous when he does it. You still make him nervous Thomas, and you’ve been together for three years. He is in far deeper than you, or him, even realise. Newt is completely head over heels for you, and I would bet my house that he has never once given this other guy a second thought.” Thomas swallowed, blushing lightly. _‘Was that true? Does Newt really feel that way?’_

“You really think that?”

”I know that.” She said firmly. 

-

Thomas unlocked the door to his hotel room, pushing it open. He turned to close it, and turned back around. As soon as he did, there were hands pushing him backward against the door, and lips on his. 

He almost choked in surprise, blinking rapidly in surprise when Newt pulled away. 

“What the fuck was that about?” He laughed. 

“I missed you.” The blond shrugged, trying to walk back away from him, but the American grabbed him by the hand and pulled him flush against his chest. 

“I missed you too.” He pressed his lips softly against Newt’s, who responded curiously, confused by the sudden gentleness. Thomas gently cupped his jaw, running his thumbs across the Brit’s cheekbones, then running a couple of strands of hair back toward the others. When he pulled away gently, Newt’s cheeks were practically on fire, and he blinked back in confusion. 

“What the fuck was _that_ about?” 

“Do you get nervous around me?” Thomas responded bluntly. His partner seemed taken aback for a moment, swallowing slightly. 

“N-no.” He tried to deny. 

“Why d’ya stutter buttercup?” He asked cockily, Newt smacking his chest and walking back toward the bed.

”Shut up.” He groaned. 

“Aww.” Thomas smiled, coming to frown when Newt sat on the floor. “What are you doing?”

”Painting the view.” He shrugged back. Thomas flopped onto his stomach on the bed, head leaning over Newt’s shoulder from where the blond was propped up against the bed. 

“That’s really good babe.” The painting was mostly just outlines, still with a burst of a brightly coloured sunrise, and the small details of Big Ben painted precisely into the page. 

“Thank you.” Newt smiled up at him, Thomas leaning forward and pecking him on the lips. 

Newt’s phone went off from the bed, and the brunette picked it up, glancing at the message. 

“Who’s it from?” The blond asked absentmindedly, focusing more on his painting. 

“We gotta go.” Thomas muttered. “There’s been another robbery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry guys, updates might be a bit hap hazard for the next few days, I’m on holiday. I’ll try my best to get one up tomorrow but I can’t promise much Lmao <33


	9. Nine

****

Ducking under the yellow caution tape, his partner hot on his heels, he threw the door of the gallery open.

Fred was instantly at his side, walking quickly with files in hand.

“Details.” The blond snapped his fingers, the ginger nodding and swallowing nervously.

“Uh, right, well” he swallowed again, “they took three paintings, altogether going for £300,500. No DNA has been found just yet, but there is signs of a break in. Some of the wood’s been chipped off at the window sill, apparently by a crow bar.” He explained. The blond hummed, pursing his lips in thought.

“That all we got?”

“All we got.” Fred nodded, seemingly walking on egg shells. The younger man seemed constantly afraid that he was doing something wrong, so the blond patted his back and offered him a fond smile.

“Good work Fred. Stay close.”

“Yessir.”

”Dude, it’s Newt.” He smiled again, Fred nodding with a trace of a smile as Thomas opened the door to the room up.

A group of police officers were huddled in the middle of the room, a few jotting things down on notepads. Forensics was scattered across the room. The two detectives were crouched at the window sill, Minho pulling on gloves with his teeth. The Brit made a beeline for his friends, smacking Minho on the back lightly to let them know they were here.

“I’ll give it to them, these assholes really know what they’re doing.” Brenda hummed.

“What makes you say that?” Thomas asked, frowning.

“Bastards bust the CCTV cameras.” Minho sighed frustratedly, dropping his arms.

“Damn.” The blond frowned. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and the four of him glanced at him, Brenda expectantly. “What? It can wait.”

”It might be Charlie.” Newt tugged out his phone, reading the message aloud. It was indeed from his ex.

[From Charlie: hey xx just got off work, hang out?]

“An alibi.” Minho hummed.

“Yeah. A really conveniently timed alibi.” Thomas muttered.

“What do I say?” The blond looked at the group expectantly, Brenda humming.

“Well, we want you too to hang out at some point, so tell him you’re busy, and that you’re free tomorrow night.” She shrugged, the blond nodding and typing the message out.

[From Charlie: ah ok. See you tomorrow then, I’ll text you my adress xx]

The Brit pocketed his phone and tugged on some gloves. Brenda, Minho and Fred walked away to ask security a few questions, and Thomas began to look over the window sill. Newt gently brushed his knuckle, meeting his eye for a second. Sorry.

Thomas just smiled warmly, leaning forward and kissing Newt’s cheek, letting him know it was ok.

The blond hummed, and went back to analysing the sill. Brenda called out from across the room.

“Oi! You two!” She waved them over, the blond limping across the hall and tugging off his gloves.

“Yeah?” Thomas frowned in confusion, the woman standing up from where she was knelt down next to a member of forensics and crossing her arms over her chest.

“We got a lead.” She grinned, Newt cocking his head slightly.

“What is it?”

”A hair.”

-

“I just hate how much it’s affecting things.” Newt drew his knees up to his chest and sighed. Mrs Norris looked at him sympathetically, and squeezed his knee.

“Newt, you and Thomas are strong. Really strong.” She advised. “It’s like, like if you dated an actor. You’d have to come to terms with the fact that they have to kiss and be intimate with other people, but also know that it doesn’t mean anything.”

”But this is different for him. Because Charlie’s my ex.” He mumbled. The older lady pursed her lips in thought.

“How is it affecting you?” She sat down in the chair, opposite him in the hotel bar.

“Well, every time he comes up, there’s a tension. Tommy gets really quiet. And, I just get the feeling he doesn’t trust me. And I want him too, because I trust him. Fuck, I mean, I’d jump off a building if he told me he’d catch me.” He sighed exasperatedly.

“Well, why don’t you talk to him about it?” She asked. “Surely communication is key.”

”Because I don’t know if I’m just being over dramatic or not. I don’t know if, I’d say something about it and he wouldn’t have a clue what I was on about. Maybe he doesn’t even realise there is tension. Maybe there is no tension, maybe it’s all in my head! I mean what if-“

”Ah.”

”if-“

”Ah ah.”

”but-“

”Ah ah ah.”

”Would you let me-“

”Ah ah ah ah.” Newt huffed, sifting back defeatedly in his chair. Mrs N smiled triumphantly, before leaning forward.

“Dear, there is no point talking about ifs and buts. You don’t know. And you won’t know until you talk to him.”

”I hate that you’re always right.”


	10. Ten

"Oh hush," The woman waved his wallet away, passing him back his ice cream. "Consider it repayment, for giving me a vacation." she grinned, licking at her own ice cream. "Plus you need it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thomas frowned, Teresa leading him to seating just outside of the cafe. She sat down with a sigh and crossed her legs, pursing her lips toward him.

"You've been off ever since I got to your hotel room today. Something's off, and you need to stop thinking about it so much." She explained, licking her ice-cream with triumph at her accuracy. The american huffed.

"It's nothing." he sighed. "Just Newt, as always." She frowned deeply, clearly expecting the brunettes issue to be slightly pettier. 

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really. Just insecurities getting in the way I suppose. And a tension that I want nothing more than to get rid of." 

"This about his ex?" She frowned, eyes softening in pity. The man nodded, sighing.

"It sounds so petty to be worrying about something like that, because I know he loves me, I do. But, every morning when I watch him, and he just- he looks so perfect when he's sleeping, I'm just always reminded that he's on an entirely new plain. He's too sweet and soft for the shit the world puts him through. And he's compassionate and flawless, and people would line up just to get a look at him if they could. We can't go down the high street without someone checking him out. But he doesn't realise. He doesn't even give them a second glance because he's in a world of his own, and it can be such a beautiful and almost child like place. He is anything anyone could ever want, and I don't deserve him. The world doesn't deserve him." He scoffed suddenly. "But knowing the world, it'll probably try to take him from me. And- and I can't deal with that. I couldn't cope."

"Tom," she reached out, and took his hand, "You are everything to him. I mean, everything. He couldn't last a day without you. And there is no point worrying so much about someone new. You know why?"

"Why?" He sighed.

"Because, if you took the time to stop worrying and actually looked up and around, Newt's probably staring straight at you. You and Newt have something I've never seen before. It's a relationship I couldn't even begin to describe. You can't see the way he looks at you." He frowned confusedly, so she leaned forward and continued.

'It's almost a sort of childlike wonder. Like he can't believe someone like you is even there, in front of him. He looks at you as if you're the only person in the room, as if you're the first person he's ever seen. It's like he can't see or hear anything else. I mean- he probably can't. I'm almost certain  that in those moments the only person in the world to him, is you. He is in way deeper than you realise. So stop worrying about Charlie, because Newt _cannot see him._ Literally, the only person he sees is you, and that won't change."

"You think so?" Thomas asked, feeling a bit better. She nodded, licking her ice cream again with some form of finality. So finally, the detective dropped the subject and moved on. "So how are you finding London?"

"It's beautiful." she smiled at the street around her, "I love the history."

"It's weird to be in such an old country." he hummed.

"I know!" She leaned forward excitably. "Do you know they have wars dating back to 1066?! How cool is that?!" She grinned.

"Very cool." He chuckled fondly.

-

"Mom," He asked, following her into the lounge just aside the lobby of the hotel. She turned on her heel, cracking into a grin.

"Oh, good afternoon T!" She smiled.

"Hey," he couldn't help but smile back warmly at the happy woman. She had really needed this break, and he was happy to have been able to give her some release. "I'm looking for Newt."

"You two aren't joint at the hip? Who would've known." She feigned a gasp, earning an eye roll. "He's teaching Chuckie how to play chess."

"What? Why?" The brunette frowned, following his mother into the room. Sat on two opposite couches with a coffee table preached in-between, was Mrs Norris and Newt on one, and Chuck on the other. The blond was pointing to a pawn Chuck had in his hand, clearly in the midst of explaining something. The old lady was watching on fondly, offering little words of advice here and there.

"Why not." Mary shrugged, making her way toward the table. Chuck glanced up, cracking into a huge grin at the sight of his older brother. 

"Hey T!" He grinned, Newt turning to smile at him with his elderly neighbour, "Newt's teaching me chess!"

"Oh yeah?" The brunette hummed, perching on the arm rest. "Who's winning?"

"Chuckie," The brit sighed over dramatically, the younger boy practically glowing, "I can't think ahead like he can."

"Well, maybe Mrs N could take over Newt's goes for a bit?" The american glanced at his brother for approval, "I've got to steal him for a minute."

"Fine." The boy grumbled, feigning annoyance as the blond shot him a smile and followed his boyfriend out. Thomas led him through corridors, humming in disapproval at each one. The blond frowned behind him, asking a few times where they were going. The brunette just wanted to find a private enough corridor, to ensure that they wouldn't be interrupted.

When he finally stopped, the brit came closer, picking at the hint that this conversation was supposed to be private.

"What's wrong Tommy? Did they find out who that hair belonged too?" He asked. The brunette grabbed him by the hand, tugging him close and smashing their lips together. Newt yelped into his mouth in surprise, slightly taken aback with Thomas' firmness. The brunette kissed him deeply, gently cupping at the blonds jaw with one hand, and pulling him closer by the waist with the other.

The blond, soon enough, although he was evidently still confused, wrapped his arms around his partners neck, one hand running its way through the brunettes dark hair. Thomas pressed backward, the brit hitting the wall with a soft thump.

Thomas took that as his unwelcome cue to lean away, dark, chocolate irises blinking up at him in confusion.

"What was that about?" He asked breathlessly, and Thomas almost had an aneurism. He was convinced he would never get bored of seeing the way Newt's hair got messed up when they kissed, or how his pupils dilated, and his lips became pink and swollen. He looked perfect.

"You deserve the world, Newt." he murmured, gently touching their foreheads together, "And I can't give you that. But I can give you all that I have. So I'll give you all of my affection, and all of my love. Because you deserve that. And you deserve more."


	11. Eleven

"I can't believe we're doing this." The brunette grumbled, passing the binoculars over to Brenda. The four of them were parked in a dark car, just across the street from Charlie's apartment, under the cover of night, with binoculars peering straight into their suspects home.

Newt adjusted his ear piece in the lobe of his ear, causing a crackle on a walkie talkie Minho had rested on his lap.

"Tommy, it'll be ok, I promise." The blond leaned forward, kissing his hand softly. "Whatever happens in there, means nothing to me." he murmured. The brunette hummed in agreement, leaning back toward his boyfriend. Newt kissed him gently, pressing their foreheads together after with a soft smile.

"I love you." Thomas murmured. 

"I love you too."

-

Newt was sat, uncomfortably, on Charlie's couch, watching as the man poured them both glasses of wine.

"You've got a really nice apartment. Your job must pay pretty well, huh." he hummed nonchalantly, the suspect shrugging.

"I'm pretty good at saving up." Charlie carried the glasses over, placed them down and then sat back against the couch, immediately too close. "But enough about me. Tell me what's new about you." he murmured, eyes never leaving Newt's. The blond swallowed tightly, standing up and deciding to wander around the perimeter slowly.

"Well, there's not much to know." he ran his fingers down a painting, humming. "This is really beautiful. Where d'ya get it?" He asked. Charlie came to stand next to him, to observe the piece, shoulders pressing against the blond. 

"I dunno, I think I got it at a home store or something. It wasn't very expensive, I just thought it was nice." he hummed.

"Yeah." the blond nodded, "I saw one that looked just like this, in the news I think." he pursed his lips. "God I wish I could remember why..maybe it was- no, maybe- wait! It was for those robberies that've been going on." he watched Charlie's face intently, the man remaining neutral. "I gotta say," he stood back. "This is a really good copy of it. It's almost exactly the same." 

"I know, it really impressed me too. Guess that's why I bought it. But you obviously still have a passion for art." Charlie averted the attention back to Newt, who inwardly cursed him for his good conversationalist skills, "You still paint?"

"Yeah, I do." Newt hummed, turning back and sitting back at the couch. Charlie followed, sitting next to him again. "That's why this whole robbery thing's buggin' me so much. Cuz I love art, and it's sad to see them under appreciated and probably manhandled. I just think, they should stay where they belong, safe and kept well in a gallery, don't you think?"

"Right, right." The suspect waved him off.

 _"Keep trying Newt. You just gotta get something fishy out of him, then get out of there."_ Minho's voice came from his ear, and the blond swallowed.

"I mean, it's gotta be fishy though," he shrugged. "Cuz, obviously the people selling them off, would get really rich, really quickly. How do you avoid raising suspicion?" He asked, pretending for it to be a hypothetical question.

"I dunno," the man asked, "You tell me. You're the detective."

"I'm a _secretary._ Nothing special." he attempted his best fond smile, the man in front of him frowning.

"You are special." Something twisted in the blonds gut, the sour reminder on his lips that those were the words Thomas had said to him before they'd kissed for the first time. It had made his heart flutter, his cheeks redden. But now, when Charlie said it, it just sounded disgusting, and only made Newt want to gag in disgust and leave as quickly as possible.

That feeling was nothing compared to the feeling he felt when Charlie kissed him. 

Newt wanted to push him away. Shove him off and run in the other direction, but he couldn't. He hadn't gotten what he came for yet. Inwardly cursing himself, he resisted the urge to gag and move away, instead pushing himself, reluctantly, to wrap his arms around the mans neck and kiss back. _"I can't do this."_ he thought, whimpering slightly to himself. As if reading his thoughts, Thomas' soft voice came through his ear.

_"It's alright buttercup. You're doing so well. I'm right here, you've got nothing to feel bad about."_

Newt felt slightly better, but only momentarily, because then he was being pressed onto his back, staring up at the man above him.

"I missed you Newt." he hummed. "You're still so cute."

"And you're still so hot." he murmured back, praying that his voice wouldn't betray him. This was wrong. This was bad. Bad. _Bad._

Newt was slightly confused at himself. There was part of him saying that this wasn't a big deal. He and Thomas both understood it was necessary, and they both knew they wouldn't let things between them change. But the larger part of him was screaming at Newt to go, as if he were in danger. It was a new level of uncomfortableness, and for some reason, even though he had a fucking knife strapped to his ankle, the blond had never felt more vulnerable and alone. He just wanted to leave. He couldn't stay here. It was bad. Here was _bad_. Thomas was who he needed to find. Thomas would make it ok. Thomas was _good._

Still, he allowed himself to be lead into Charlie's bedroom, dread filling the pit of his stomach.

"I'll be right back babe." The man murmured into his ear, chills going down the blonds spine, before sauntering off to the bathroom. As soon as the door had closed, Newt attacked the room as quietly as he could, throwing open cupboards and drawers in search of anything incriminating.

"How fucking high is this apartment?" He hissed.

 _"You're on the sixth floor, why?"_ Brenda asked.

"I'm considering jumping."

_"Newt, you got this."_

"Uh no. If I haven't found anything by the time he gets out of there, I'm fucking out. I will make out with him, but you ask me to fuck someone, that's where I cross the bloody line." he murmured, throwing up the rug and pressing down on the floorboards beneath them.

 _"Well if worst comes to worse, that's the better option."_ Minho murmured, more to his partner than the blond.

"Why? What's the other option?" 

 _"Well, Thomas is just about ready to march up there and skin the asshole, so.."_ the detective trailed off, clearly glancing back into the back seat. Newt could almost see the man seething, as he whipped his dagger out from his ankle. The blond jammed the tip underneath a floorboard, tugging it upward. 

"I don't think that's gonna be needed." He whispered.

 _"Why not?"_ Brenda asked.

"I hit the jackpot baby." The blond grabbed the wads of cash, carefully righting the floorboard and throwing the rug back down. "Get to the trash, I'll throw them down." He skidded toward the window, tugging it open. He saw the car across the street light up as the two men who weren't in the drivers seat got out, crossing the street to stand next to the trash can. One by one, the blond threw down the cash, which he guessed would come up to almost £2,000.

When he had one more wad to go, he saw the en suite unlock. So the blond practically threw himself at the sill, sitting on it as casually as he could manage. Charlie opened the door, smiling fondly.

"What you doin'?"

"Oh, I just got a bit hot. Needed some fresh air." He explained, holding the large wad of money just out of view underneath the sill. The man crossed across the room, sitting opposite the blond on the ledge and leaning forward. He crashed his lips into the brit's messily, already tugging at the man's shirt. Newt took the opportunity to drop the last of the cash, masking the sound of it hitting the trash with a soft moan. 

 _"Right, get out of there Newt."_ Brenda ordered, the blond immediately pulling back.

"Shit."

"What?" Charlie asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Charlie I am so sorry, but I've just remembered that I have to pick my sister up. I told her I'd pick her up from a party right now. She's expecting me." He jumped up off of the ledge, throwing his shirt back on and rushing from the room. The surprised man followed, frowning.

"Can't she wait a little longer?"

"I wish," the blond laughed, "I really do. But when Sonya gets drunk, she gets herself in all sorts of trouble. I really got to pick her up before she blows up the whole venue or something." he tugged on his jacket. "But this was really nice. I'll call you! See ya!" He left the bewildered man, closing the door before he had the chance to reply. 

Newt threw himself down the stairs as fast as his leg would manage, frowning slightly at his urgency. It was almost like running down the stairs when it was dark upstairs, because of the irrational fear that something was chasing you when you were younger. The blond threw open up the doors and bolted across the street, door to the back seat of the car opening for him. Without faltering in his pace, the brit threw himself into the backseat and smashed his lips against Thomas'.

The brunette immediately had his arms around his boyfriend tightly, closing the door with his foot and then rolling over on top of the blond. Newt desperately kissed at the americans lips, running his fingers familiarly through his hair. 

Only when they broke away, did the blond realise the car was moving, very quickly, in the opposite direction of their suspects apartment. He panted for breath, clinging to the man he was pinned under across the expanse of the back seats, tugging Thomas into a hug.

The american buried his head into the crook of Newt's neck, the brit taking in deep breaths of the familiar scent of burnt wood and ivy. His hammering heart slowed, breathing becoming steadier. His partner gently rocked him, tugging the blond close to his chest.

"That was awful." Newt croaked out, Thomas sitting up and pulling the man with him, allowing Newt to bury his head into his boyfriends' chest.

"I know, I know." he murmured, running his fingers through the blond's locks. "It's over now. You did amazing and now you don't have to go back."


	12. Twelve

"Well? We got any other fingerprints?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms over his chest and watching Fred straighten himself out, nodding quickly.

"Yeah, we've got some really good news." The ginger offered with a sheepish grin. The five of them were sat around Thomas and Newt's hotel room, the four detectives sprawled out and laid casually on the furniture, Fred standing formally and awkwardly in front of them all.

"Well, go on." Minho waved him off from where he was laid out on the bed. Newt pursed his lips from the chez lounge, offering him a seat next to him, swinging his legs off of it. 

"Come sit first Fred." The ginger awkwardly complied, perching on the foot of the piece of furniture, as if ready to pop up again if needed. "You gotta relax a bit mate. We don't bite."

"Well, I'd watch out for Minho. He's a kinky bastard." Thomas muttered from where he was sat on the cabinet, the asian feigning offence and throwing a complimentary slipper at the man, who yelped.

"Woah woah woah, boys! Calm it!" The blond put his hands out, trying his best not to laugh. He watched Fred slowly loosen up next to him, only to laugh when Brenda chucked a slipper at the brit, which smacked him slap bang in the forehead."Wha- why you little- guard dog, attack!" He pointed at Thomas, who dove from the cabinet and rugby tackled the woman. Brenda squealed when the man landed on top of her, tickling at her sides.

"Get off get off! No no Thomas- fuc- I will kill you in your sl- Newt will wake up soaked in your blood!" She threatened through her squawks, "Minho! Don't just stand there!" 

Minho dove at the detective, knocking him off of his partner, the two rolling over in a fruitless attempt to get on top of each other.

"It's like watching wolves tryna be the alpha." Newt muttered, sitting back and watching the two.

"Wolves? More like moose." Brenda scoffed from the bed, from where she was recovering. Minho ended up throwing them both off of the bed, both landing on the floor with a thump. There was a few bangs from the other wall, all of them glancing up.

"IF YOU TWO ARE GONNA HAVE SEX AT LEAST DO IT QUIETLY!" Sonya yelled. There was a silence for a moment, before Fred burst into cackles. Thomas watched Newt smile fondly at the man, before turning to him.

"Yeah Thomas! Minho! Fuck quietly!" 

"WHAT?!" Sonya cried from the other room, her brother snorting with laughter.

"Alright, alright," Brenda laughed fondly, reseating herself on the bed. "You two get up here, serious business." she ordered. Thomas untangled himself from his best friend, sitting up attentively to listen to what the ginger had to say. Fred learn his throat, shuffling to the edge of his seat and leaning forward.

"So theres fingerprints on the cash, and they link up to the hair we found at the gallery." he explained.

"Really?" The brit beside him whispered, bewildered by their luck.

"Yeah. Only problem is, this person isn't on our records at all. In fact, theres no proof of this person ever even existing." he elaborated with a sigh.

"How is that even possible?" Brenda frowned.

"Destroy the records. Birth certificate, drivers licence, all of it. It's difficult, but manageable." Minho huffed.

"So how do we find them?" Brenda asked, turning back to Fred, who shrugged helplessly.

"At this point, I'm willing to pray." Newt ran a hand over his face tiredly.

-

"Can we go on a double decker bus?" His younger brother asked hopefully. When Thomas had asked Chuck what he most wanted to do in London, that had not been the answer he'd anticipated. Then again, he supposed being a kid came with simple pleasures. Hey, he wasn't complaining. It was cheap.

'Course we can." He smiled, pulling up directions to the nearest bus stop onto his phone. The younger boy followed him aimlessly as they wandered through the streets, captivated about the city around him. When they eventually found the bus stop, the two of them had to run to catch it before it drove away, managing to sit themselves at the front of the top deck, city streets splayed out in front of them.

After a while of Chuck staring about the streets below him in absolute awe, he turned to his brother, frowning deeply.

"Why would Newt ever move away from here? It's amazing T." 

"Well, I'm glad you like it," Thomas smiled fondly at his small brother, young eyes alive with unfamiliarity and wonder. "But cities aren't for everyone. And it might not have been up to Newt. He was only young after all." he explained, watching people wander down the grey streets. The weather was, unsurprisingly, grey that day, but they had been graced with dry skies thus far.

"T?"

"Yes Chuckie?" The man could never be mad about the boys constant questions, he knew his brother got it from him after all.

"Why have you never met Newt's parents? Are you going too now that you're in London?" 

"No Chuckie." The brunette hummed, deciding to save his brother the breath of asking by telling him the reasoning behind it now, "Newt doesn't get on with his parents. They're not the kind of people he or I want to have anything to do with."

"Why not? What did they do?" Chucks piercing eyes widened in horror, "Is _that_ how Newt got his limp?!" 

"No, no," The american immediately quelled, "Well, not directly." he sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, and trying to find the best way to explain it. "You see, when Newt came out to his family, his parents didn't really accept that. So they cast him out, and separated him from Sonya. So, then Newt got sad, and something happened which caused his limp. But when he was in the hospital, he met Minho, and things got better. Sonya left their parents, and the two of them came back to England. Long story short, they're still not cool about Newt and Sonya being gay, and don't want anything to do with them. So they keep themselves to themselves." Chuck stared at him intently, as if trying to figure something out.

"That's horrible." he murmured sadly. "Why would any parent be that horrible? Newt and Sonya don't deserve that." 

"No, they don't." he sighed. "But sometimes peoples' religion comes before their own children."

"Well, I think that's wrong." Chuck decided with finality, determination resting between his eyebrows. Then it softened, and he cocked his head toward his older brother, who was watching boats bob over the Thames. "T?"  

"Yeah?" He asked, watching black cabs and different specks of cars race across tower bridge.

"Do you think you and Newt will get married?" He asked. The american almost snapped his neck whipping back toward his brother.

"What?"

"Well, I just thought," the boy shrugged meekly. "It's been three years, and you're both happy. I mean, T, you're twenty-six, most people in relationships when they're twenty-six are kinda in it for the long haul." he murmured. 

"I miss when you were thirteen." Thomas groaned. "You didn't ask so many damn personal questions." he nudged playfully at his brother, who scoffed.

"I'm just asking."

"Why? Do you want me to marry Newt?"

"Yeah!" The boys face lit up, taking the brunette aback.

"Why?"

"Well, you know I've always liked him. And I like Sonya too. He makes you happy, and at this point I'm fairly certain I'll get married before you do. That just looks lame on your part."

"Woah woah," The brunette stuck a hand out, "Steady on mate, you're only fifteen."

"Almost sixteen."

"Still a baby."

"Slim it," The boy scoffed, nudging at him. "Look. I just want you to be happy." he swallowed at his feet, suddenly nervous, "And, well,"

"What is it Chuckie?" He encouraged softly. Thomas had always encouraged the boy to share his feelings, never wanting societies views on guys showing that they actually had emotions to get in the way of what he wanted to teach the boy was ok. As the only father figure Chuck had ever known, Thomas had made it his mission to let the boy know that it was ok to have emotions, and that he should never have to bottle up how he was feeling.

"Well, I don't think it's fair. And, I think," he glanced up at his brother. "If Newt and Sonya don't have a family, then- then we can share ours with them."

"I'm sure they'd love that Chuckie."


	13. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch Billie Eilish is hurting me. One of her songs just sums up where this fic is going whoops catch me crying in the club (I won't tell you which song, I don't wanna spoil anything lmao) <33

"So how you holding up without Harriet?" The blond asked, watching his sister roll her eyes and stir her slushie around her cup with her straw.

"Fine actually. Because I don't stop functioning when I'm not around my partner, unlike _some_ people." Her brother shoved her playfully, rolling his eyes with a scoff.

"Oh hush, I'm doing just fine without him here, aren't I?" He raised an eyebrow, the girl just shrugging.

"Eh. Only been a few hours. At least you know you'll see him at the end of the day." she sipped the blue ice from her cup with a hum.

"You miss her then?"

"'Course I do. But we call and FaceTime every day, so it's not been that bad. I did need this time away, I'm not gonna lie." she murmured, glancing around the street.

"Why?" Newt frowned, "Things not too good?"

"No, no things are perfect." she shrugged simply. "Just, can't beat a change of scenery, you know?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I'm not gonna lie, it's nice to be back." he hummed. "Missed the culture. The people." His sister hummed, pursing her lips.

"It has been nice. I mean, I don't remember any of it, so it's kind of like my first time. Which is nice. I'd like to come back here with you." she nudged affectionately at his side, the brit nodding.

"Well I'll get that arranged." She grinned up at him with her inherited chocolate eyes, sparkling with youth. She then pursed her lips in thought, stirring thoughtfully with her straw.

"Maybe you and Thomas could come here on your honeymoon?" Newt spluttered into his own drink, glancing back at her with wide eyes. The girl looked majorly unbothered, raising an eyebrow.

"Honeymoon?? Last time I checked, there was nothing about marriage going on here?" He looked at her incredulously, but she just shrugged.

"Newt, come on," she rolled her eyes, nudging at the man again, "You're twenty-seven, it's about time you got on that. You're almost thirty, and you really love him, so why not get married?" 

"Because- well-" he blinked rapidly, trying to unravel this entire announcement about what he should do with his life, "I don't know, we've never talked about it." he shrugged helplessly.

"You can't tell me you've never thought about it." the girl gave him a look, mirroring his own incredulous glance.

"Well, I mean-" he swallowed tightly. "I suppose I've always assumed we'd just end up together. Like- forever. But- I've never- I mean- I'd like too...get..y'know..married.." he trailed off, face flaring up as he glanced back down at his cup.

"So propose." she shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. He threw a wide eyed stare her way, eyebrows flying up.

"What?! Are you bloody crazy woman?!" 

"Why not?" she seemed confused as to what the big deal was about.

"Well- I mean- I don't know if he wants to get married- and he might not be ready- I mean- I might not be ready and-"

"Do you love him?" The girl cut off.

"Yes."

"Do you want to love him forever?"

"Yes." he nodded.

"And how does the prospect of him being with anyone else make you feel?" His face crumbled, and he swallowed.

"I- I hate it. It'd break me."

"Then in what way aren't you ready?" 

"I mean- I guess I'm not ready too.." he tried helplessly, before sighing, "Look, I don't know. I just- he needs to be ready. It'd have to be something we'd have to talk about." he explained.

"Fair enough, fair enough," she hummed, "I won't push."

"Why are you asking anyway?" Newt frowned, "You thought about it with Harriet?" Sonya immediately flushed, her older brother gasping and beginning to grin. 

"You have!" The girl grumbled for him to shut up, trying to cover her pink cheeks with her pale hair. "Sonya Newton you're barely twenty-two!" The people they had just passed stopped short, Newt not noticing as he giggled over his younger sisters flushed face.

"Samuel? Sonya?" The blonds heard a sickly familiar voice behind them, causing them to freeze. Sonya's eyes were blown wide, and she swallowed tightly to her brother. In the moment, all Newt could do was shoot her his best reassuring glance, before wheeling around on his heel, coming face to face with his parents.

They hadn't changed much since the last time they'd talked, two years prior. Their mother was wrinkling, distracting society from her age with her copious amounts of makeup and pearls. Their father was greying, glasses perched at the end of his sharp nose, dark eyes twisting in disbelief and what Newt could only describe as disgust.

Newt ran his tongue over his teeth. This wasn't happening today. He'd kept his parents out of the picture for a reason, and there was no way he was going to let them ruin his and Sonya's day.

"Mum. Dad." he acknowledged coldly. His mother glanced him over, nodding slightly.

"You're looking very healthy Samuel." then she glanced his sister over. "You're still very pretty Sonya."

"Thanks." The girl hummed, tone lacking in affection. "Looking alright yourself." then she glanced at her father. "Y'alright too Dad." The man nodded curtly to the girl. Newt was struck by a distant wave of sadness, fuelled by the fact that anyone walking past would've assumed they were strangers, or acquaintances at most.

"So, what are you doing in the country?" The older man asked, Newt shrugging.

"I'm here working. Brought Sonya along for a holiday." he pocketed his hands.

"And-" his mother pursed her lips slightly, "What is it that you do, exactly?"

"I'm a detective. Here on a case." he resisted the urge to sigh at how little his own mother know about him.

"Claimed best in the world." Sonya piped up, her brother shooting her an affectionate smile.

"Really?" His father seemed unimpressed, still, finding the guts to say, "We're proud of you." he nodded curtly. "And what do you do, Sonya?" He asked his daughter, who sighed a little, knowing only disappointed sighs and looks were to come.

"I'm working at a coffee shop right now. I'm looking for a job vacancy, to put my engineering degree to use. So, I'm working on it." she nodded.

"You two are living together, I presume?" The older woman asked, Newt sighing slightly. He just wanted to leave. Everyone was undeniably uncomfortable with the situation, so the brit didn't understand why they couldn't all just leave each other alone and go about their lives.

"No, we live on almost opposite sides of the city." He explained shortly. "Sonya lives with her girlfriend, Harriet, and I live with my boyfriend, Thomas." His mother shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to further herself from the two younger people.

"I see." she nodded, lips pursed even more. The blond secretly thought she looked a little like an old, grumpy duck, but he'd laugh about that later to himself. "And, Newt, how long have you been..seeing this..man?" She asked, Newt quite surprised that she was lingering on the topic of his raging homosexuality. His father didn't look pleased about his wifes' choice of conversation, huffing.

"Three years. Almost four." he answered, skeptical of how she was going to turn this into a sermon about his sins.

"And you are..twenty six?"

"Twenty-seven." he corrected.

"And- you haven't married him yet?" She frowned. Newt's father shot her a look, nudging her slightly with his elbow. The blond exchanged a glance with his sister, confused as to what seemed to be genuine interest from his mother.

"No, not yet. But- I plan on it."

"Is he in the country?" She pressed, her son becoming more and more perplexed by her behaviour by the second.

"Hannah." his father hissed. She waved him off, keeping her attention firmly planted on her son.

"Uh- yeah..he is. He's out with his little brother today."

"Well- can I meet him?" She asked, determination filling her eyes. Newt glanced back at his sister, who was practically gaping with shock. His father looked positively outraged, staring at his wife as if she were crazy. Newt laughed in bewilderment, nodding.

"Uh- sure you can." 


	14. Fourteen

" _Your mom_? Wants to meet _me?_ " Thomas let his boyfriend pull on his sleeve desperately, expression begging.

"Yes, and this is important to me, so hurry up and dress up nice before she changes her mind." he whined. The brunette nodded, throwing off his shirt and diving into the wardrobe, searching for a suit.

"Why does it matter, babe? You hate your parents." he frowned from the wardrobe, the blond groaning and flopping onto the bed, already having dressed up in his own suit, which actually made Thomas almost drool, but the blond wasn't to know that.

"I know, and they seriously don't deserve a second chance.." he trailed off, and the american poked his head out to raise an eyebrow at Newt.

"But?"

"But," the brit sighed, "But I can't help but feel jealous when I see you with Mary. I'd give anything to have half of the relationship you have with your mum with mine." he explained. "And she's making the effort, so- I just- I want it to work. Which is stupid because my hopes'll get crushed again, and I'll be heartbroken. It'll be my own fault, and it'll distract from the case, and then things'll go wrong, and then-"

"Newt, spiralling." he hummed.

"Sorry, sorry," the blond mumbled, watching Thomas tug off his jeans and throw on some dress pants. "I've just gone and got my hopes up now."

"Listen," the brunette caught his attention, absentmindedly doing up his belt, "this is gonna be fine. We can leave if they say anything, ok, because even if you don't leave, I'm not gonna sit there and force you to put up with any more crap, when I can just take you back here. They step out of line, we're out of there."

"And what if it goes well? I don't know if I'm just ready to let them back into my life like that."

"If they want back in, they're gonna need your forgiveness. And I mean, if you're asking me, they're gonna have to work pretty damn hard, after how they hurt you. And if it were me," Thomas had shrugged on a shirt and suit jacket, and was now at the mirror, trying to figure out a tie. Thomas wasn't very good at ties. He saw gentle hands turning him around, Newt keeping his eyes on his work as he tied loops and knots. "I'd be down on my knees begging for forgiveness. Because anyone would be incredibly lucky to have you in their life, Newt. And anyone who's evil enough to hurt you, should have to work damn hard to deserve your love again."

Newt pat down his tie with finality, glancing at him. The brunette took him by the biceps, sweeping back some golden hair behind his ear. 

'Doesn't matter what happens tonight." the american hummed, Newt frowning inquisitively at him. "Because you'll still have me at the end of it."

"Let me guess," the blond smirked, as if the sentiment was stupid, although Thomas would be a fool not to notice the glint of fondness behind the blonds dark eyes, "That's what partners are for?" Thomas tapped the blonds nose, over exaggeratedly shooting him a grin.

"Well done buttercup!" 

"Dork."

-

Newt cleared his throat at the table, his parents glancing up. Mr. Newton immediately looked Thomas up and down, thin lipped and emotionless. The older man kept his hands to himself, nodding curtly at the other man. Thomas, palms sweaty, nodded back, and turned to Newt's mother. 

"You must be Thomas." The woman stood, offering him a hesitant hand. Not exactly a Mary welcome, but the sentiment was appreciated. The american shook her hand politely, sitting down with his boyfriend across from the two older brits.

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Newton, Mr Newton."

"And it's nice to meet you too." Hannah did most of the talking, her husband staying silent and stone cold. It was painfully obvious that he didn't want to be there, and wanted nothing to do with his son or his boyfriend. "You have a lovely accent." the woman commented with her best sincere smile.

"Thank you," Thomas shot her his biggest smile, glancing between the two of them. He felt Newt shift next to him, subconsciously pressing his bad leg up to Thomas', it clearly giving him some trouble. The brunette glanced in concern at his boyfriend, who only shot him a small smile of reassurance.

A wave of hot anger shot through the detective, and he wondered if it flashed in his eyes. _'What are we doing here? These people don't deserve a second chance. They don't care about Newt. They're the reason he has his limp. They caused him so much suffering. They allowed the world to hurt him, they should've been doing their job. They should've been protecting him.'_

"So," Hannah cleared her throat, "Where did you two meet?"

"We're partners. Detective partners." The blond explained. 

"I see. I assume that means you must trust each other very much then?" She asked, seeming genuinely interested. Her husband simply elbowed her softly. Newt pretended not to notice.

"Yeah. The jobs pretty dangerous, so we've saved each others lives a lot. Like, Tommy and his brother saved me, when I got poisoned." the brit explained, paying more attention to the drink in front of him, and the bubbles inside.

"Poisoned?" his mother had gone rather pale, "Like food poisoned?"

"No mum," he mumbled, hand slipping underneath the table. Thomas immediately took it up and gave it a soft squeeze, resisting the urge to kiss it, "I almost died."

'And we didn't know?" She murmured.

"You're not my emergency contact." Newt shrugged helplessly.

"Well, it's alright. He's just fine Hannah," Mr Newton waved it off, "No need to fret."

"Sonya was missing for three months." Newt's voice was almost inaudible, and his mother clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Wha- missing? As in, kidnapped? Was she hurt?" The woman asked, eyes wide with shock.

"She got kidnapped, but she was ok." Thomas continued when Newt lost his voice, "We got her back and safe." he reassured best he could. Hannah seemed shaken, nodding quietly and turning back to her wine. For a moment, she held her tongue, before turning back to her son.

"Samuel-"

"Mum, please," he cut off, "It's Newt."

"I thought you hated that nickname." The woman frowned.

"I only hated it because it reminded me of my family." he murmured. His father made an offended noise, opening his mouth. Luckily, his wife got there before him.

"Alright, well Newt," she took a deep breath, "Sweetheart, you know I never stopped caring for you and Sonya." she reached toward her sons free hand, but Newt pulled away.

"Samuel," His father warned with a low turn. Newt glanced at his father, suddenly raising his eyebrows.

_"Yes?"_

"Don't disrespect your mother like that." the man glared down his son, who only sent him a hard stare back.

"Think I have a right to be pissed after what you assholes did to me." the blond never broke eye contact with her father, Thomas squeezing his hand again in support.

"Newt.." Hannah whispered, sorrow lacing her tone.

"What _we_ did to _you_?" Mr Newton scowled, "What about what you did to us?"

"Isaac." His wife warned, afraid of anyone raising their voices in a fancy restaurant. 

"What I did to you?!" Newt hissed across the table.

"You drove our family into shame!" His father glowered back. "How do you think we felt, knowing we had two sinners for children!" The man was turning positively red with fury. Thomas was watching the family boil over in front of his eye, pride building in his chest for his snarky boyfriend.

"Oh I'm so sorry that the way I live my life goes against what some dumb fucking book tells you is right," Newt snapped. "How do you think I felt, knowing I had no one? No parents to support me, my sister kept away from me, in a country where I had no support system? And how do you think I felt when I was stood on top of a fucking building?" His mother was paling with every word, shaking her head, as if it would stop the words that next came out of her baby boy's mouth.

"How do you think I felt when I tried to kill myself?"

"My baby.." Hannah's voice wavered, and it was only then that Thomas realised that there were silent tears running down Newt's cheeks.

But, no one could've expected the next words that came from Mr Newtons' mouth.

"It's what God would've wanted."

Thomas was about to throw himself across the table at the man, but Mrs Newton got there first. It was only when Isaac's cheek went white, did anyone realise he'd been slapped. Newt was watching in absolute shock at his mother, who had her hand still raised and tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Don't you _dare_ , talk to my son like that." she dropped her hand in defeat, sniffing fruitlessly. "What are we doing Isaac? Our own son tried to kill himself. Our beautiful daughter went missing for three months, and we had no idea. All because of something a book says. Who they choose to love has no affect on our lives, so why are we acting like this? It's not fair."

"In the bible it says-" Newt's father tried, his wife cutting him off again.

"It also says love thy neighbour as thyself. And these aren't our _bloody_ neighbours Isaac, they're our children."

-

Newt and Thomas had left shorty after that, right after Mr and Mrs Newton had decided to spend a night away from each other. The partners had walked back to the hotel in silence, Newt's eyes glazed over in thought.

And now it was 3:45AM and Thomas had no idea what to say. He couldn't figure out how Newt was feeling, although against his chest he could feel the soft vibrations of crying. The brit had been silently sobbing for the past hour, the only comfort Thomas could offer being holding him tight and rubbing circles onto his back.

In the soft light of the street lamps outside, Newt glanced up, meeting Thomas' eye for the first time since they left for the restaurant. His face was red and blotchy, tears and snot running down his face, eyes glassy and spilling. The brunette frowned at him sympathetically, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"T-T-T-ommy," he hiccuped.

"I know babe, I know." Thomas' heart was aching. _'Why does this has to happen to Newt? He is the person least worthy of this suffering. All he ever wanted to do was help and make people happy.'_

"He-h-he wants me dead." Newt sobbed. "My own father wants me dead."


	15. Fifteen

A ringing in his ears A pounding in his skull. A throbbing behind his eyes. Newt groaned, eyes blinking open. The light only worsened the whining in his head, and he only groaned louder, burying his head into the bed.

Where was Thomas? He wanted Thomas. He was hurting. He needed Thomas.

"Tommy.." he whined quietly. The blond's limbs were aching, too much to get up an close the curtains. "Tommy.." he whimpered again, fruitlessly calling for his boyfriend, who he prayed was only in the bathroom and could hear him. "Thomas." he moaned at the ache coursing through his body. The hotel door clicked shut, and Newt called out weakly again, "Tommy."

The brunette poked his head around, eyes growing wide. 

"Newt!" He hurried to the blonds side, "How long have you been awake, babe?"

"Tommy- please close the curtains." the brit quietly begged, the man immediately nodding and pulling them shut and grabbing something from the shopping bag he'd put down, opening some pills and sitting on the end of the bed.

"Open." he ordered. Newt closed his eyes, eyelids dragging shut again, and opened his mouth. The brunette put in two tablets, then poured some water down the blonds throat, Newt swallowing it down.

"What was that?"

"Just some pain killers. It'll help with your head." Thomas explained. "Now, I've called off sick for a day, Min' and Bren' are covering. So you have the day to take it easy." 

"Tommy," the blond frowned, but had to stop himself from furrowing his brow as it hurt too much. "You didn't have to do that. I'm ok."

"Well I'm not. I was up at five this morning, so I needed it too." The brunette shrugged. 

"Why were you up?" Newt whispered out, drawing the covers up past his eyes.

"Thinking, is all." His partner hummed, before getting up from the bed and grabbing some things from the wardrobe. "Now come on, you're still in that suit babe. And as hot as you look, I think we should get you changed." Newt offered a peak over the covers and saw Thomas lay out some clothes. A large jumper and jogging bottoms. Neither of them were Newt's.

"Those are yours."

"Yeah, you like wearing my clothes." The brunette shrugged. 

"Tomm-"

"Newt, listen." The man stared him down, "I hate to see you hurting, and I know that there's nothing I can say to you to stop you from hurting. So let me spoil you today. Let me cuddle you and kiss it better the best I can." The blond watched the unwavering determination in the americans eyes. He huffed out a sigh and nodded in defeat. "Perfect." Thomas' smile lit up, and he gently coaxed his boyfriend to sit up. 

Thomas gently pulled off the suit jacket and discarded it, working at the buttons and tugging off the tie. He took off the shirt from around the blonds shoulders, then grabbed the jumper.

"Can you lift your arms up buttercup?" He coaxed, the blond lifting his arms as they whined in pain. The brunette gently pulled it over his head, messing up the blonds head of hair in the process. Thomas smiled fondly and tried to sort it out best he could, only messing with it more. Newt scoffed gently, blowing it out of his large eyes. Thomas then pulled back the duvet, working at tugging off Newt's belt.

He slipped it off and discarded it with the rest of the clothes, and then pulled off the blonds dress pants. He helped the exhausted blond wriggle into the too-big-joggers, the end of them going about three inches past Newt's foot, but the blond didn't to mind, curling up inside them.

Thomas grabbed something else from the bag, and then clambered into bed with the blond, pulling him close in the mess of thick covers and excess pillows. Not that Newt minded. It made it cosier.

"What's that?" The blond murmured, glancing at the box Thomas had in his hand.

"Cake." he shrugged, opening the box.  A fresh waft of Victoria sponge hit the brit's nose, mouth almost watering at the scent.

"You got me cake?"

"Yeah."

-

Newt cuddled into his boyfriend's side on the bed, humming contently. The two of them had dismantled the sheets and pillows, creating a fort around them and the TV on the opposite wall. The blond had finished the slice of cake and so they'd called for room service, ordering as many of the items on the desert menu as they wanted. They weren't paying for the hotel bill anyway.

"Tommy?" The blond turned his attention from the trashy day time telly, his boyfriend humming in acknowledgment, sipping a milkshake."Have you ever thought about- well you know- uh-" his stuttering caught the attention of the american, who raised his eyebrows. "Well, it's just- yesterday, Sonya and I were talking, and she asked if I'd ever thought about..marriage.." he murmured, glancing at the floor.

"Y'know," The brunette hummed into his straw, "Chuck asked me the same."

"They're probably in Cahoots." he scoffed, Thomas snorting and nodding. "But- have you thought about it?" He pressed. Thomas hummed for a moment, nodding slightly.

"Yeah, I guess." he shrugged, "Why? Have you?"

"Not really." Newt admitted, a soft glance of disappointment gracing Thomas' features, and so he quilt added. "Because I always assumed we'd just be together forever. I never thought we'd have to make it official." he explained quickly.

"Well, would you like to?" The brunette frowned.

"I suppose. I mean, it is a lot of work and money, but it'd be nice. I'd like to be able to call you my husband." Newt almost giggled at the thought, the american smiling warmly.

"And I'd like to be able to call you my husband too, babe."

"Well," Newt frowned, "Not unless you propose with a massive stone in a ring." The blond scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" The brunette hummed. "What kind of ring?"

"Well," The detective thought, "it'd have to be diamond, at least." he shrugged flippantly, "You'd pass with an emerald or something."

"If it were a sapphire would you say no?" The brunette asked.

"I'd leave you." Newt shrugged back.

"Better pull it out the bag then, eh?"

"That's a good idea. You could pull a cat out of a bag. Or a rabbit. I'd marry you if you did that." he hummed, "Or a dog. But it'd have to be a big bag," The brit went off on a small tangent, more to himself than Thomas, "Because I like big dogs. I don't really like small dogs, they're yappy and bite. I guess pugs are okay. But I don't really agree with pugs, because they're not very heathy."

"Babe," Thomas scoffed softly. "I'm not proposing to you with a dog." Newt looked at him, feinging offence.

'Then it's a no."

"Oi now, pushin' it." The brunette prodded at his side, "I won't propose at all if you act like this." he teased, Newt lurching away from the poke. Thomas blinked, a smirk crossing his face.

"No, no, stay away," Newt warned, but Thomas was already on top of him, tickling his sides mercilessly. "NONONONOLET GO THOMAS GREENE I HAVE A FUCKING REVOLVERNONO FUCKOFF AHAHNO!" He squealed, trying desperately to wriggle from his cackling boyfriend's grasp. Somehow, he managed to overturn the two of them, tickling with new mischief at Thomas' neck, where he knew he was ticklish.

"OFOFOFFOFFGETOFFNEWTNONOOFF." He shrieked, smacking at Newt's hands, who was laughing uncontrollably. A loud knock came from Sonya's wall, and Newt stopped, holding back a laugh.

"Sorry." He whispered, just being able to hear Sonya's grumbles on the other side of the wall.


	16. Sixteen

"Let me get this straight," Thomas sighed, leaning back in his chair, "We can't arrest Charlie for having hundreds of pounds under his floor, because, why?" He challenged, Newt chewing on some more cake beside him. Brenda groaned, sitting up on the desk.

"Look, he has some suspicious money under his floor, but he has an alibi. He started cashing in a couple months back, and the police already questioned him about it. Said his parents were sending him money every month to help him pay the rent." she explained. "We checked in with them, and they confirmed it."

"Hundreds a month?" The brunette frowned. 'For rent?"

"Prime real estate." she shrugged.

"In cash?"

"They think it's safer." she hummed.

"But we have this womas' fingerprints on the money." The blond spoke up from where his mouth was full of chocolate cake, "Her same DNA was at the scene of a crime. Isn't that enough to at least nick him in on suspected conspiracy?" he asked. Minho poked his head up from a file, shaking it with a grumble.

"There were hundreds of sets of fingerprints on that money. And we have no proof that this woman even _exists_ , it's not enough to go by."

"So?" The blond pressed. "I'm assuming you have a plan?"

"That we do, my tea-drinking-british-beauty. That we do." The asian grinned at him, earning an eye roll, grabbing at the whiteboard behind him and spinning it around. On the other side, were pictures and notes, linked together with different coloured string. The primary being red. Because they didn't know anything. "Right, so," he hummed, "We were looking at the maps," he motioned to a large map in the centre of the board. It was of the country, cities marked in blue pen, with red circles around most of them.

'These people aren't random." The detective explained. "They've been targeting almost all of the cities in the UK. They steal from one gallery or antique place, move on to the next city. One of the only cities left, is London." the man pointed at it. "Only thing is, we don't know what gallery or shop they'll attack, and when."

Newt hummed, stepping up to the board and glancing around at the different lists of things that had been stolen and from where. After almost five minutes, he grabbed Minho's notebook from him and ripped out a page, ignoring the protests and offended cries of his best friend. The blond whipped out a pen and scribbled some things down, before pinning the page up. He grabbed some red string, and began connecting the places and what was stolen, to different items on his list. The other three watched in confusion, Brenda eventually frowning.

"Uh- Newt, what are you doing?"

"They're all different." The brit turned pointing to his list. "Different forms of art, different styles, like they're trying to find out which will get them the most profit." he explained. "Look," he pointed at an old antique shop in York, "Necklace from the 1950's," then he pointed to one in Belfast. "Ring and bracelet from 1880's, got them more money." he explained, stepping back to admire his handy work. "If they're gonna go for London, they'll go for art. They have too, it's so expensive." Thomas frowned as the blond muttered to himself, "No..no that can't be it."

"Modern art." The brunette piped up.

"Huh?"

"Have they taken any modern art?" Newt turned back to the board, shaking his head.

"I don't think so."

"So they'll go to the Tate Modern. It's the biggest home of modern art in the country, if they're gonna go anywhere for modern art it's there."

"Huh." Brenda hummed at the board, blinking in the conclusion the two had managed to come too wishing three minutes. "Well done you two. But how do we catch them?" 

"Meet 'em at the door." Minho shrugged. "We know where they're headed, we can meet them."

"Wait," Newt was wearing a deep frown. "But we don't know who we're looking for."

"Charlie, babe." The american frowned. 

"Charlie doesn't do any of the dirty work." Newt scoffed as if the idea was incredulous.

"How do you know?" Brenda asked.

"Look," the blond sighed. "Charlie's smart. He had one of the stolen paintings, _hanging up in his home_. He wouldn't have done that if he was stealing them himself, no no, if they were already suspicious of him, he'd never be that obvious." Newt bit his nails as he thought, voicing his stream of consciousness. "Charlie was a leader. He's the mastermind behind it all. That's why his DNA is on the money, but not at the crime scene."

'Think about it, he wipes a woman completely off of the national data base, in return for doing his dirty work for him. He gets her some money in return, and he gets to keep a painting. Maybe the woman was in trouble, needed a way to go completely off the grid." Newt hummed. "Charlie must know someone suspects him. So he puts someone else in the firing line, whilst at the same time, keeping her safe, because she'll be hiding in plain sight. We could go to the Tate Modern, but we won't know what we're looking for. Because I'll guarantee you, Charlie won't be there." the brit finished his theory.

The four were silent in thought for a moment, before Thomas asked.

"Have they always gone for the most expensive thing?" 

"Yeah." Minho nodded. "Or as close as they could get."

"So, we cover the most expensive piece in there that they can actually move. Camp out there at night, catch whoever's there." Brenda turned to her computer, tapping something in really quickly and then scrolling.

"Alright, there's an Andy Warhol and a Picasso there." she hummed.

"So we guard them."

"But how?" Minho frowned. "They've taken out _every_ security camera. And got in and out of some galleries with the highest security imaginable. And there's four of us." Minho frowned.

"There is four of us," Thomas nodded in agreement, "But we know when they'll come, who'll come, what they're coming for and where there next target is. We won't let her get these paintings. We grab her, grab a confession, get Charlie, job done." he shrugged.

"You make it sound a lot easier than I get the feeling it'll be." Brenda groaned to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry ya'll, short chapter today. The next couple'll be longer and a lot more eventful lmao <33


	17. Seventeen

"This is stupid." Brenda grumbled, Thomas smacking a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up." he hissed, glowing at her, "It's gonna work."

"It's not gonna work." she murmured into his hand, rolling her eyes.

"It's gonna work." he repeated, shooting her a warning glare and taking his hand away. She raised her hands in surrender, the asian turning back to them.

"You two done bickering now?" he raised an eyebrow. "We're kinda in the middle of something here." he motioned back toward the darkened room that thy were in the corner of, eyes on the two paintings in the centre of it. 

"Well I don't see anyone yet." Brenda hummed. 

"They might sneak up on you from the back." The brunette snickered back.

"Nah, Newt's behind me." she shrugged back.

"Yeah, and I'll throttle the three of you if you don't slim it." The blond hissed, smacking the girl upside the head. Brenda opened her mouth again, but Newt clapped a hand over her mouth, a shadow passing at the window. The shadow became a figure, trying to pry open the window with a crowbar. The latch popped open, and the woman slid into the room, clad in full black, long, blond hair tied back into a high ponytail. She seemed to float into the room, pressing against her ear lobe and murmuring into it.

"I got eyes on 'em. It'll be a ten minute job at tops."

"Freeze." Minho cocked his gun, the woman freezing were she was. The group cocked and spread into the four corners of the room, weapons trained on the suspect.

"Fred, lights." Newt ordered. The white room flooded with light, causing the woman to squint painfully. Her face was surprisingly young, blue eyes large and fierce. She had her hands up, her pistol still in her palm. 

"Put the weapon down." Minho ordered. The woman stared at him defiantly, not budging. "I won't ask again." he said forcefully. She sighed, dropping the weapon carelessly, obviously not caring if it went off and shot one of her captors. "This is how this is gonna work." he explained harshly. "You're going to co-operate and walk with us out of here and into our car. If you do not co-operate, it can be used against you in a court of law." She nodded sullenly, rolling her eyes at the floor.

Mature.

"Newt, do a quick search first." Brenda nodded, the blond walking toward the woman, and ordered for her to outstretch her arms and legs. He felt his way down her arms, putting pressure and feeling for anything suspicious. Then, he passed down her torso, coming up with nothing out of the ordinary. He pressed down one leg, finding nothing.

When he got to the right ankle, he felt a sharp, hard press of something. Frowning, he glanced up at the woman. She glanced back at him, blinking. Then the blond had a knee in his nose, and he shot backward in pain, sudden movement catching him by surprise. Then there was smoke everywhere and his lungs were itching and people were yelling around him.

Newt stumbled upward, disorientated and coughing. 

"Fred! Where's she headed?!" He heard Thomas' distant voice from somewhere in the room. 

 _"Toward the entrance."_ Fred called into their ears. 

"Damn bitch used a smoke bomb." Minho spluttered. "Thomas, Newt, follow her. Brenda and I'll get backup if we need."

"No, someone needs to stay behind. Someone might come back for the painting." Newt called, already running toward the door the smoke had opened up too.

"Ok, I'll stay here." The asian nodded. Brenda smacked her partner on the back and followed the other two men out. Newt skidded down a hall, turning and barreling down the still escalators. Thomas and Brenda followed hot on his heels as he jumped the last few steps, sprinting out into the main hall and then throwing open the doors. 

The woman was throwing on a helmet, and started up her motorbike, pulling out of the entrance. Thomas and Brenda looked at each other, the blond whipping around.

"Brenda. head her off at tower bridge." he nodded toward a second motorbike, clearly used for employees to get around the site quickly. The woman nodded curtly, jumped on the bike and pulled out of the entrance too. The blond jumped onto the third bike, looking at the brunette expectantly. Thomas frowned, jumping on the back as the brit started it up.

"Uh- babe, since when did you know how to ride a motorbike?" He asked, wrapping one arm around Newt's thin waist. The brit shrugged, starting to pull out before he broke the news to his partner.

"Since now."

"What?!"

"It'll be fine," he shrugged, trying to work out what everything did whilst he steadied the bike, glancing up to see their target a while ahead of them. "I'm sure it's just like riding a normal bike."

'I seriously don't think it is." The american huffed.

"Babe, less worrying, more shooting." He watched the woman get further and further, and he swore, trying to figure out how to accelerate. With one motion, the bike suddenly revved and sped up, earning an excitable grin from the blond. "Oh yeah."

"Christ." Thomas muttered behind him, pulling out his pistol behind the blond. Newt sped up, gaining on their target quickly. The woman seemed to notice, taking a sharp turn in the direction they didn't want her to go. Newt swore again, making the tight corner and staying on her trail. The woman turned down another street, one filled with restaurants and bars, people down them still milling about, some drunk. Perfect. The one thing they didn't want right now was people with slower reaction times.

Their target didn't seem to care, revving her engine once in warning before beginning to fly down the street. Newt followed hotly, praying that their good luck continued as pedestrians flung theirselves out of the way, screaming in terror. The woman was about to take another right turn, falling away from the direction in which tower bridge was. The blond hastily swerved to the right side, hoping that the woman realised by the time she turned right, their bike would crash into her. She seemed too, jerking the bike suddenly into the left turn, the blond following with a scream of tires.

When they flattened out into the straight on tower bridge, the brit nodded, hearing Thomas cock his gun behind him. He rested his arm against Newt's shoulder, squeezing the trigger. The first bullet went over her head, and she ducked, swerving slightly. The brunette fired again, this time missing the bike by a centimetre. 

The openness of the straight caused the woman to make the sharp turn onto tower bridge, trying to shake her pursuers off. Newt made the turn and the road flattened off again. Thomas aimed again, and this time hit his target. The bullet buried itself into one of the bike wheels, causing the bike to spin and swerve. The blond slowed slightly, attempting to stay out of the way of the crashing bike. Except it didn't crash. The woman managed to gain control of the bike again, and Thomas cursed, squeezing the trigger to find he had run out of bullets.

Their target whooped with victory. Unfortunately it was cut short when there was a revving of an engine, and Brenda rammed her way into the bikes side, sending the rider flying and sprawling on the floor. Newt braked sharply, blinking at Brenda as he stopped.

"Nice work guys." she smiled, jumping off her bike.

"Thanks." Newt nodded, hopping off of his own bike as Thomas whipped some handcuffs out.

"Do I want to know why you've got those on hand?" Brenda sorted as the three of them walked toward the unconscious woman, Newt and Benda's guns still raised incase she was faking it.

"Oh haha." The man rolled his eyes, taking the woman forearms and handcuffing her behind her back. "Right. What now?"


	18. Eighteen

"Well?" Minho raised his eyebrows expectantly. Thomas sighed, shaking his head. "Why not?" The asian frowned. "It's kind of important."

"No it's not." The brunette shrugged back, earning a gawk.

"What do you mean it's not?!" He hissed, glancing around the hall to check no one was listening. "You know the suspect. You know her name, which is more than anyone else. Other than that, we know nothing about her. So your information is kind of useful." 

"I don't _know_ her!" The american retorted, "She just came onto me in a bar."

"Yeah," Minho crossed his arms over his chest, "A bar in _New York_."

"Min'' the groaned, "You're overthinking this. It's just a coincidence. I don't even know if her name really is Ruby." he tried.

"It's better than nothing!" 

"Mate, come on. It doesn't add anything to the case, and you know how Newt'll get."

"Yeah, I do." The asian pursed his lips. "He'll be totally fine with it. Because he doesn't over-react about things like this when he knows the case is more important to focus on."  Thomas groaned, just managing to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Come on man, low blow. Charlie's different."

"I'm just saying.' the detective huffed. "Fine. I won't force you to say anything now, but you shouldn't be keeping things from Newt, even if you do think it's in his best interest. The longer you hide it, the worse it's gonna be when he finds out."

"How do you know he'll find out?" He asked, Minho smacking him on the back and placing a hand on the door handle.

 "That's what all cheaters say."

"Except I haven't cheated." he replied.

"That's what they all say." Minho's face was stern, but the american could tell he was fooling around. He scoffed and punched his friend lightly in the arm, rolling his eyes as the asian opened up the door into the room on the other side of the interrogation room was.

"Shut up man." The american and asian laughing quietly as they closed the door behind them. Newt smiled at the two of them, Brenda too busy sending a hard stare at Ruby on the there side, despite the fact the other couldn't see it.

"Right." Minho hummed, frownng at the criminal. "Who's going in?"

"I think I wanna stay out here. Her body language is giving me weird vibes, I'm gonna try and figure her out.' Brenda immedialty opted out. Minho hummed, sticking close to Thomas. He shot the brunette an inquisitive glance, and Thomas nodded in approval that he was ok to go in. _'Besides, if she says anything and Newt asks, I can just say I din't have the opportunity to tell him yet."_ he shrugged to himself.

'I'll go." he hummed. His partner simply made a grunt of agreement, scribbling something done on his palm. "What's that?" He asked, the blond fnishing and following him to the door.

"Just a reminder. It just came to me now." he shrugged, opening the second door and making eye contact with Ruby. The woman barely payed the brit any attention, instead smirking at Thomas. He kind of wanted to punch her. 

But alas, the two sat down and the blond straightened his files, glancing up at her.

"Can you tell me who you are?" He asked. She glanced again at the brunette, pursing her lips before humming.

"Ruby Grant.'" she nodded toward her handcuffs. "I'd shake your hand if I could. Who are you exactly?" Newt sighed boredly.

"Detective Newton." he nodded toward the american. "This is my partner: Detective Greene." he leaned forward slightly. "Now, Ruby, what were you doing in the Tate Modern this morning at 1:25AM?"

"Trying to steal paintings. Duh." she scoffed. 

"Are you responsible for any of the other recent robberies in the UK cities?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was."  she hummed. Thomas risked a glance at his partner, confusion and slight surprise flashing in his eyes. The brunette frowned, leaning back in his chair.

"And how many?"

"All of 'em."

"And where did the stolen items go?" Newt shot off questions, clearly becoming more and more confused when their suspect didn't even hesitate to answer.

"Sold some, gave some way, kept some."

"And can you tell us the location of an of the stolen items?" The brit asked. Ruby laughed at that one, Thomas raising his eyebrow.

"No, that's dumb." Newt and Thomas exchanged a glance, the brunette raising an eyebrow in question, wether or not Newt want him to try and get it out of her with harsher methods. The blond shook his head, turning back to the criminal.

"Can you tell me who you sold any of them too?" The woman yawned and shook her head. The brit sight, moving his papers and breaching another topic. "Alright. We have, no record of your DNA on our database. Systematically, you don't exist. Can you tell us why that is?"

"Sure thing Blondie." Ruby nodded, although er eyes kept flicking back to Thomas. "My boss did it. Got in some trouble with the law back in the states, so my boss volunteered to get me wiped from the system, in return for his dirty work."

'Can you tell us who your boss is?" The brit asked, voice unmistakably wavering slightly at the prosoet of how close they were. Newt's dreams were crushed however, when the blond woman shook her head.

"Hell no. I'd like to keep my head please." she scoffed.

"Right," the blond sat back with a sigh, "I think we're done here. Unless you have anything more to add Ms Grant?"

"Oh, no." She smirked at Thomas, the blond glancing at him with a frown of confusion. 

"Am I missing something here?" He asked, pressing the stop button on the recorder. "Do you two know each other?" Thomas opened his mouth to explain, when Minho flung open the door. All three glanced at him, concern furrowing at Thomas eyebrows at the sight of his friends expression.

"Min'? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Someone broke into the Tate Modern again. Fred's hurt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I know some of these chapters are pretty short, but a lot happens so y'know I hope you can forgive me lmao<33


	19. Nineteen

The four of them ran around the corner, Newt smacking into Thomas when the brunette skidded to a halt. He glanced over the americans shoulder, breath catching. Police caution tape was around the entrance, and there was a police car, along with an ambulance parked just outside. Turning on his heel to look at the four, was Chief Inspector Matthew. 

Newt swallowed tightly as the man marched toward them, face set like stone. 

"You four," he stopped in front of them, the all too unwelcome reminder of the man's height coming back, "I gave you all the resources you needed. Access to everything. I put this case into your hands, and left you too it. There may have been two other robberies since you joined the case, and I can't fault you on that. But you get one of my best men injured, we're going to have to have a talk." he warned lowly, " _How_ could you have let this happen?"

"It was my fault, Sir." Minho stepped forward, nodding curtly toward the Chief Inspector. 'I was the one who told Fred to stay here. We thought we had the culprit. I'm sorry, we were so caught up in the interrogation, we didn't even stop to think that there might have been co-conspirators."

"Well, that was stupid on your part, wasn't it?" The older man frowned darkly. The asian nodded, glancing at the floor.

"Is he alright?" Newt asked. "How bad is it?"

"Two cracked ribs and a fractured skull." The officer sighed, "Whoever did this knew he was there, and they intended to kill him." The blonds' heart skipped a beat, and guilt dropped at his stomach.

"Why didn't they?"

"Fred fought back. Wounded them, and their boss seemingly decided that getting the paintings was more important. So they left him alone, and he managed to call me." 

"And will he be ok?" The brit murmured, the Chief Inspector's eyes turning slightly soft with what could be fondness or sympathy.

"He'll be just fine. Just, in hospital for a few weeks." As if on cue, the stretcher rolled out of the entrance, the four of them bolting toward it,.The paramedics stopped it for a moment, allowing the beaten ginger to smile weakly up at his colleagues. His forehead was bandaged up, and Fred's pale skin was greatly contrasted by the huge black eye he had, and yet he still managed a tiny smile.

"Hey guys." he whispered weakly.

"Fred.." Minho trailed off, "I am so sorry. I never meant for this to happen."

 _"We_ never meant for this to happen." Thomas corrected, placing a hand on Minho's shoulder.

"It's ok." Fred's voice was merely over a whisper. "I got something for you though." his eyes seemed to light up slightly, and Newt exchanged a glance of confusion with his female co-worker. "Someone grab my phone. It's in my hoodie." he nodded toward it, Newt pulling it out with a frown. "Look on my camera roll." he murmured weakly. The blond unlocked his phone and went to photos, clicking on the most recent item, which was a video.

"What is this Fred?"

"I recored it." he murmured. "I thought if they showed their face you could use it as evidence. I just wanted to help." he shrugged meekly.

"Help?" Newt glanced back at him, "Fred, this is amazing!"

"I did good?" The ginger asked softy, as he began to get wheeled away with a tiny smile. The brit smiled back at him fondly, giving his hand one, final squeeze.

"You did great, mate."

-

Newt was sat on their hotel bed, files and papers spread across the bed, and he sighed, chewing on his lip.

"Babe, you've been working for almost forty-right hours." Thomas hummed, leaning against the wall. "Have a nap."

"I can't. I don't want to slack. We were so close Tommy, _so_ close." The brit surpassed a groan. "And I don't want to give up now, right after what happened to Fred. It's not fair. He's just a kid."

"We're going to figure it out." The brunette perched on the bed behind him, pressing a soft kiss at the nape of his neck. "But you can't do that on no sleep, and you can't do it if you're this uptight and stressed."

"I just want to get this right." he sighed.

"I know you do. I do too." The brunette wrapped an arm around his waist from behind, resting his head against the blond's shoulder. Newt hummed, sighing against him. "How about this. We're gonna go on a date around the city tonight. We'll go wherever you want, do whatever you want. Get you to loosen up a bit. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a terrible idea, with many things that could go wrong.' The blond laughed softly, his boyfriend humming against the crook of his neck. 

"Or it sounds like an amazing idea where everything could go really well and you could have the time of your life." Thomas shrugged back.

"Our last date night, you fell in a river and then I handcuffed ourselves together."

"Are you saying that's a bad thing?"

"We were attached to a lamp-post Rambo." The blond turned his head to scoff at the american, who huffed.

"Ok, so no drinking."

"You won't be able to do that. You rely on alcohol to get yourself laid." The blond scoffed, the brunette feigning offence.

"Are you saying I couldn't get you to have sex with me if we were sober?"

'It depends. Is that a bet you're willing to make?"

"Yes," Thomas hummed, "Yes it is."

"Then yes that is _exactly_ what I'm saying."

"Alright, fine. I will take you on a sober date tonight. And if we have sex, you owe me ten dollars. If we don't, I'll give you ten." Newt pursed his lips in thought, humming,

"But you promise it'll actually be a nice date? Not just about getting back here, right?"

"'Course."

"Then deal."


	20. Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so updates this week will be quite haphazard Cuz I’m on holiday, but I will try to post regularly. Thanks for the support as always! <33

Newt snorted into his coke, smacking his boyfriends chest.

“What?!” Thomas laughed.

”You can’t say that!” He cackled.

“Well you liked it.” The brunette grinned at the blond, smiling fondly at him. Newt was flushed and trying to wipe tears from his eyes.

“You’re a twat.” The Brit rolled his eyes.

“You love me.” He smirked knowingly, the blond finally maneging to recoup. Newt pursed his lips, shaking his head.

“Nah.”

”Oh?” The American raised an eyebrow. “Why are you with me then?”

”Cuz,” Newt took a sip of his drink as he thought, finally putting it down with a teasing smirk. “You’re really hot.”

“So there is attraction?”

“Yeah” his partner shrugged carelessly “A sexual one.”

“Great.” The brunette shrugged, “so let’s go fuck.” Newt laughed softly, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes.

“I actually quite like having my ten dollars on me.” Thomas pouted with a sigh.

”Why?”

“I’m saving up for a prostitute.” The blond bit his lip to stop himself from bursting into laughter, and his partner just rolled his eyes and slapped at the mans shoulder.

-

“It’s hard to believe we’re not drunk.” The blond was giggling uncontrollably, the two of them stumbling down the street.

“I think we’re just delirious.” Thomas admitted with a snort.

“That’s a big word.”

“You’re a big word.”

“No I’m not.” The blond frowned as if that was the most hurtful thing that had ever been said to him. “My name is four letters.”

“Noo, your full name is twelve letters.” The brunette figured out on his fingers.

“You don’t know my middle name!” Newt stumbled toward him, pointing an accusing finger at his boyfriend.

“Then What is it?” Thomas’ head was pounding, and he felt really drunk, but the brunette just assumed it lack of sleep. ‘ _Once we get back to our hotel room, everything’ll be fine.’_

“It’s Matthew. Like the one in the bible.” The blond scoffed in disgust, before attempting to turn back to the brunette, instead stumbling slightly into him. “What’s yours!?”

“Uhh-“ the American wracked his brain. What was his middle name? “It’s Edward.” Newt blinked at him, and it was only then that Thomas realised how dilated the brits pupils were.

“Why?”

”Cuz,” The brunette leant into the door of their hotel, stumbling in, the receptionist rolling her eyes at what she assumed were two drunk blokes. “You can shorten it to Ed. Like Thomas Ed. Thomas Edison.” He snorted, zig-zagging his way toward the elevators. Newt followed him, frown on his brow.

“Tommy..” The blond murmured, voice suddenly low. The brunette glanced back at him, pressing the button on the elevator and letting the doors close.

“Yeah?”

”What’s happening to us?” The Brit swayed slightly, steadying himself on the Americans shoulder. “This isn’t deliriousness. I think we’re drunk.” Thomas scoffed, smiling fondly down at the blond.

”Babe, we didn’t drink any alcohol. We can’t be drunk.”

“Then- What’s happening?” The door dinged, and Thomas stepped out, only to stumble his way into the wall opposite. Newt blinked at him, watching for a few seconds before he stumbled over too. “Tommy, are you ok?”

”Yeah.” The brunette swallowed dryly, attempting to regain his balance. “Just dizzy.”

”Tommy-“ The blonds eyes lit up in horror, and his breath caught, as if a literal light bulb had gone off over his head. “Tommy, I think we might have been drugged.”

”Drugged?” The brunette repeated, testing the word. He attempted to walk forward again, stumbling into his boyfriend, who now looked really concerned. “Fuck, we’ve been drugged.” Thomas whispered, head spinning and pounding. “Why? Who?”

“When- when we-“ The Brit tried, eyes rolling back slightly. He leaned straight into the wall, groaning slightly. “I thought I saw someone following us back here.” Attempting to push himself off the wall, he stumbled back into Thomas, who tried his best to steady his boyfriend, instead sending them both toppling backward. “Tommy-“

”I know.” He tried. “Not safe out here.”

“How far is our room?” Newt murmured, swaying slightly in a desperate attempt to keep his balance.

“Just down the hall.” The brunette grumbled. “We can make it. We can.”

“Ok.” The blond nodded, grabbing his hand. “We stay together, yeah? No letting go.”

”No letting go.” The American repeated, speech slowly becoming more and more slurred. Newt was the same, struggling to keep his eyes open as he began to zigzag down the corridor, Thomas following best he could.

Newt tripped over his bad foot, crashing down onto his knees with a yelp. Thomas steadied himself for a moment, then leaned over best he could, taking the blonds forearms and heaving him up.

“Ok?” He blinked slowly, The Brit having to slowly process the question and then nod in confirmation. Thomas began to lead the two of them down the hall, failing when he tripped face first into a pillar.

“Tommy, les call Brendand Minho.” Newt slurred out, gripping his phone with shaking hands, something Thomas assumed he could neither control, nor was aware of. The blond tapped a few times, tapping a random contact and holding it to his ear.

Waiting, Thomas became aware of his body swaying. There was a pounding behind his eyes, hammering in the centre of his skull. His body felt like lead, and he groaned involuntarily. When someone picked up on the other end, it took Newt a few seconds of process time before he managed to get out,

”Minnho, we been drug. Plee-as come and he.. lp.” The line immediately hung up, and a few seconds later a door down the hall flew open, and Teresa and Mary burst out. Thomas glanced at them, and then looked back at the blond, who giggled as if the situation was unbelievably funny. “Whoops.”

The two women rushed down the hall, Teresa gasping.

“Oh my god, are you two Alright?” She steadied Thomas with her hands on his bicep, cupping his jaw and looking him over.

“W- we think someone’s coming. Have to get back.” The brunette explained, slightly more coherent than his partner. Mary and Teresa shared a look of concern, before the older woman took the blond by the hand, nodding to the other girl. Teresa began to lead Thomas down the hall slowly, steering him away from walls. The brunettes mind was fading, and all strength was leaving him as he stumbled back down the corridor. Distantly, he heard Mary coaxing the blond the same way.

Teresa opened her door with a click, leading her friend in slowly, and flicking on the light. Chuck was sat up in bed, large eyes blinking in confusion.

“Teresa, Mom, What’s going on? Is T drunk?” He asked.

“Yeah Chuckie,” Mary sighed. “They got really drunk like silly men do.” Thomas wanted to reach out and reassure his mother, able to hear the concern in her voice, but his arms felt as if they might drop off. Teresa sat him down on her bed, Mary helping his boyfriend down next to him.

“Mom..” The brunette croaked, leaning backward. He felt his eyes rolling and Newt groaning quietly.

“We’ll be safe T, don’t worry.” Mary murmured quietly. “Sleep.”

Thomas moaned quietly at the pounding ache on his skull, before everything went dark.


	21. Twenty-one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall I took a risk for this ya bitch wrote this on a plane squished up in between my mum and my brother i wa sweating the entire time

When Newt pried his eyes open, the first thing he saw were several concerned faces. Minho and Brenda were frowning down at him, his sister and Mrs Norris further back, worry creasing at their brows. He groaned, rolling onto his side.

Thomas was coughing, eyes adjusting to the light. Mary, Chuck and Teresa were looking over him, his mother gently stroking his hair.

“Morning.” Minho was the first to crack into a grin, smiling down at Newt, who just grumbled.

“Fuck.”

“How you feeling Newt?” His sister asked, sitting down by his head and offering him her best warm smile, that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“My head hurts.” He admitted.

“Well that’s expected.” Minho hummed. “Whatever you got given, it was some pretty strong shit.” News’s mind clicked, and he shot up, only to yelp with the sudden pain in his skull. Sonya frowned, pushing him lightly onto his back again, feeling his forehead.

“Is everyone ok?” He asked quietly. “No one got in?”

“No,” the Asian nodded. “Everyone’s ok. You’re sure you saw someone following you?”

“Positive.” He resisted the urge to nod, ache tugging at him. “I remember it. He was just a shadow, but I knew he was following us.”

“What does that mean?” Chuck asked, watching his brother groan and adjust. “Why were they following you?” Newt glanced at Mary for permission to tell the boy the truth, but his brother got their first.

“They were probably betting that we’d pass out in the bar, and they’d be able to kidnap us, but when we left and the drugs hadn’t worked yet, they followed on the off chance that we’d pass out in a secluded street.” Chucks face was one of pure terror, and he paled, closing his mouth and clearly wishing he hadn’t asked the question.

“But why?” Mary continued. “Who’s trying to get you?”

“Could be anyone.” Brenda frowned, biting her nails in thought. “Someone you two put away years back who’s out of prison. Could be someone working with Ruby.”

“You got a lot of enemies when you’re a detective I suppose.” Mrs Norris sighed, Brenda nodding gravely.

“Did you see anyone suspicious?” The girl asked, Newt exchanging his first glance with Thomas. The brunette had dark bags under his eyes, which were slightly bloodshot. Newt could only assume he looked the same. He reached out gently for the brunette’s hand in an inquiry into his health, the American squeezing it in return and conformation that he was alright.

“No. There was hardly anyone in there, no one that came anywhere near our drinks, or us for that matter.”

“So, what do we do?” Chuck asked, frowning in concern and obviously praying silently that he wasn’t going to be told they couldn’t do anything. So Newt worded it differently.

“We’ll stay alert. Make sure no ones following us. Stay together.” He listed off. The younger boy seemed displeased with the answer, but nodded anyway, sighing at his brother. “How’s Fred?” The blond turned the conversation away from the subject that had obviously shaken the boy, and the others in the room that weren’t involved in the job.

“Better. He’s doing pretty good.” Minho nodded, concern still creasing at his brow when he glanced at his best friend.

“Did you look at the footage he took?” Thomas sat up slowly, his mum helping him up. Brenda sighed, nodding.

“Yeah. It’s practically a dead end. It was too dark to see how they looked. The only thing we know is that it was a man, but Fred could’ve already told you that.” She sighed again, rather hopelessly.

“Is there any DNA in the room?” Thomas asked. Brenda only shook her head. The brunette sank back into the bed with a groan.

“On the plus side, Ruby’s not getting out anytime soon. She’ll go to court, and then to prison for a long time. It’s just about seeing how long it is until she cracks.” Minho piped up, trying his best to find some positivity.

“I don’t think she’s planning on cracking.” The blond grumbled. “She’s obviously been told what to and what not to tell us. And I get a feeling she’s one that’s not planning on going against her boss anytime soon.”

“Everyone has their breaking point, Newt.” The Asian hummed. “We’ve just got to find her breaking point.”

-

Sonya sighed into the crook of Newt’s neck, the man rubbing her back soothingly.

“Hey, it’s ok,” he hummed. “I’m ok.”

“Newt,” his sister muttered, drawing back and meeting his eye, “I get that you’re job is dangerous. But you have to be careful. You have too. You’re all I’ve got left.”

“I know Son’. And I don’t plan on leaving you. I’ll be careful.” He squeezed her hand tightly, smiling at her.

“I haven’t seen you anyway. I was gonna ask you about how everything went with Mum and Dad?” He whitened slightly, glancing at the floor. “You were avoiding telling me weren’t you?”

“It didn’t go too good.” He admitted with a nod at his shoes.

“What happened?”

“Well, we got there and everything was ok, for the most part,” he explained, sighing, “Mum seemed genuinely interested in Tommy. And then..” he trailed off, an encouraging hand squeeze spurring him to continue, “Well, then it kinda got out that you went missing, I got poisoned. And then Dad and I got into a bit of a fight cuz he was going on about the dishonour we brought upon his family,” Sonya scoffed in disgust, “and then I let slip about the leg,” he nodded down to his leg, and didn’t raise his head. He didn’t want to admit the next part.

“And then?” She pushed quietly.

“And then, he told me that’s what God would have wanted.” He murmured. Sonya’s breath caught, and her hand tightened around his. “And then Mum slapped him.”

“What?!” Newt scoffed quietly, smiling softly at the memory.

“She was saying about how it’s stupid that they don’t accept us. Because we’re their kids. They fought, and decided to stay a night apart. Then Tommy and I came back here. I haven’t seen them since.” He shrugged quietly.

“I can’t believe Dad said that- I mean- I can’t believe Mum said that! What the hell?!” She laughed in disbelief, her brother scoffing and shrugging.

“I have no idea. She’s grown up since the last time we saw her. Dad- well, not yet.”

“I mean, I’m not complaining. It’s a good bloody start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, quick update, as you all know I’m on holiday right now, and my plan was to update. But I’m knackered, and since I’ve started writing, wayy back at Fingerprints, I actually haven’t given myself a break lmao. So I’ve decided to take the rest of my holiday off, so when I write again when i get back, it’s not utter crap. Thanks so much for all your support, lotta love <333


	22. Twenty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall thought you were gonna get a cute date but then they got drugged so I’m giving you a proper date to make up for that and my absence. I give you some newtmas. I’m so kind.

This was a good choice.” Thomas hummed into his Diet Coke, glancing around the hotel bar. “Safer choice.”

“Exactly.” The blond hummed proudly at his choice.

“And less of a walk when I get you in the mood to fuck.” The brunette added. Newt scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m still saving for a prostitute though.” He feigned disappointment.

“Your attachment to that note caused us to get drugged. If we’d have just stayed here and had sex, we wouldn’t have had that problem.” He teased. The Brit groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Well, unlike you, I actually value the time I spend with you, and it’s not all about sex.” He pursed his lips as Thomas spluttered.

“Wha- that’s not true! I love you, you know I do.” He gave his partner his best puppy eyes across the table. Newt scoffed, and turned his nose up, scrunching it in fake disgust.

“No, I don’t want to talk to you Thomas Edward Greene. You’ve upset me.”

“Newt I’m sorry.” The brunette pouted like a child, batting his eyelashes in an attempt to be forgiven. The blond stuck his tongue out sulkily, so the American leaned across the table and kissed him. The blond whipped his tongue back in in shock, leaning back and blinking.

“Did you just assault my tongue?” He asked as Thomas fell back into his own seat, smirking.

“I didn’t realise I needed your tongues consent.”

“Yeah well you do.” The Brit shrugged. “Gary doesn’t appreciate being assaulted.” Thomas scoffed in amusement, raising an eyebrow.

“Your tongue is called Gary?”

“Yes.”

“Gotcha.” The brunette hummed, “so, how are the sunrises here in compare to the sunrises at home?” He asked. Newt practically began to glow at the mentions of the sunrises, beaming particularly bright when Thomas called America home. The brunette knew how much Newt hated it when anyone associated him with Britain. Britain meant his parents.

Thomas couldn’t have cared less about which sunrise was better, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t love how excited Newt became talking about it. He was practically bouncing off his seat, beam wide and eyes sparkling. The brunette smiled fondly, resisting the urge to lean over again and press his lips to his boyfriends. The Brit was waving his arms around in excitement, and his hand caught Thomas’ attention. _‘It’d look perfect with a ring on it.’_

“Tommy, are you listening?” The blond pouted sulkily, The brunette blinking out of his daze and nodding.

“Oh- uh- course buttercup. Always.” He offered. The blond huffed and narrowed his eyes dangerously across the table. “Love you.” The American tacked on hastily.

“Sure sure.” The blond kept glaring at his boyfriend over the lip of his drink. Then he scrunched his nose up in disgust and pulled back, glowering at it. He stuck his tongue out again. “Bleugh. Too much lemon.” He grabbed a napkin and fished out his lemon slice from his drink. “Maybe I should stop putting so much trust in drinks. It never seems to work out for me.”

“No, not really.” The brunette scoffed, picking the lemon slice and plopping it into his own coke. “Too sour for you?”

“I like sweet things. Cmon, you know this. You’ve seen my breakfasts.”

“I’ve also seen your boyfriend.” The American scoffed, miming a hair flip.

“You’re not sweet.” Newt pursed his lips in thought, ignoring Thomas’ faked offence. “You’re spicayy.”

“What does that mean?” The brunette scoffed.

“Means you’re hot.”

-

“Stop being so hot.” Newt whined against the elevator wall, Thomas chuckling against his neck, feeling the shivers that went up the blonds spine.

“I’m not trying to be.” He hummed, pressing wet kisses down the brits pale neck.

“Well you should still stop.” Newt grumbled, scratching at the nape of his partners neck.

“Why?” The brunette asked, finding a good place to begin to suck a deep mark. The blond mewled quietly, digging his nails in on impulse.

“Cuz- ‘ts not- not fair.” The detective stuttered, throwing his head back to give Thomas some more room, which the brunette gladly took up. “I don’t stand a bloody chance.”

“I’m sorry babe.” The American glanced up at the doors opening, tugging his boyfriend into the deserted hallway. Newt decided not to follow, and instead to push the brunette into the wall opposite and clash their lips together.

Thomas responded gladly, letting Newt’s desperate tongue to brush against the roof of his mouth, earning a low groan from him. He ran his hands down to the blonds waist, tugging him flush against his chest. Newt ran a hand up his chest, pulling away and instead moving to suck on the brunettes ear, before trailing kisses down his jaw.

“And this is too sharp.” He hummed against the Americans jawline, Thomas groaning again. “I could cut myself on this shit.” The brunette snapped his head to catch Newt’s lips up again, a kiss full of tongue and teeth.

He reached down and gently tapped the blonds thigh twice, the blond immediately jumping and wrapping his legs around the Americans waist. Thomas ran his hands under the blond to support him, now angling his kisses upward and beginning to slowly make his way down the corridor.

“You are so gonna owe me ten dollars over this.” The brunette laughed softly against his partners lips, his partner groaning as he went to bite at Thomas’ neck.

“Fuck you.”

“Yeah babe that’s what we’re gonna do.”

“You suck.”

“Last time I checked, you did the sucking in this relationship.”

“You’re the worst person I’ve ever met.”


	23. Twenty-three

The sunlight streaming into the room was what woke Newt up. He blinked a few times in an attempt to clear the sleep from his eyes, before he rolled over. Thomas was sleeping peacfully, arms wrapped possessively around the blonds waist. The brit yawned and propped himself up on his elbow. He smiled fondly down at the sleeping american, running a hand through the brown hair. His partner stirred, but didn't wake. 

"Tommy?" He mumbled, voice slightly rough. The man didn't wake, only tightening his grip. Newt leaned down, pressing his lips softly against Thomas'. When he pulled back and the brunettes' eyes were still closed, he kissed him again, this time earning a confused noise at the back of the detectives throat. He smiled against Thomas' lips, a hand coming to cup at his jaw and the grip around his waist pulling him closer. 

When he pulled back and opened his eyes, Thomas' own were open.

"Good morning Rambo." he smiled.

"You're eager." The brunette immediately tease, the blond hitting his chest lightly and slouching back.

"I'm never eager." Newt argued with a huff.

"Last night would tell otherwise." Thomas laughed as he got another smack. "Speaking of which.." he trailed off suggestively, Newt groaning and rolling over, turning away from his boyfriends' smug gaze. The brunette laughed, coming close to the blonds' ear as he was swatted away. "Come on buttercup," he nudged at Newt's neck with his nose as he ran his fingertips down the blonds sides gently, Newt squirming and trying to shove him away. "Pay up."

"Getoffoffoffthattickles!" he squealed, batting the americans hands away from him. The brunette laughed, instead deciding to clamber on top of his boyfriend. He grabbed ahold of the blonds' wrists with one hand, pinning them above his head and then narrowing his eyes.

"If you don't pay up you'll be forced to endure tickle torture." Thomas informed him gravely. Newt stuck his tongue out at him.

"Gary says fuck you." 

"You asked for it." The brunette began to tickle at Newt's sides with his free hand, the blond practically screeching and wriggling uncontrollably in a desperate attempt to free himself from under Thomas. It was fruitless though, no matter how much he kicked and squealed, the american wasn't giving up.

"GETOFFOFFPLEASEETOMMYSTOPAHHNONOILLDOANYTHINGSTOPPLEASETOMMYPLEASEAHHNONONO." Thomas stopped suddenly, raising an eyebrow.

"Anything?" Newt huffed and nodded begrudgingly. "Ten dollars. And a kiss." 

"Fine, let me get my wallet." The blond grumbled. 

"Oh you're not going anywhere, I don't trust you not to run away. I'll get your wallet." The brunette grinned smugly, reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing Newt's wallet with his free hand. "Plus you look so pretty right now." he added absentmindedly, taking out a ten dollar note and waving it smugly in his boyfriends face, which was now beet red at the passing comment.

"Can I have my hands back now?" 

"I haven't had my kiss yet." The american frowned, placing the wallet back on the table. Newt groaned, and rolled his eyes, nodding. Thomas smiled, very pleased with himself, and leaned down to peck Newt on the lips. He then finally rolled off his boyfriend, the blond groaning as he sat back.

"Oww." he whined, stretching out best he could to rid himself of aches. The brunette turned back around, whistling lowly. "What?"

"That." The american pointed to a deep hickey just under Newt's right ear. "Good luck covering that up babe." he laughed to himself, rather smugly, as he trotted off to the bathroom.

-

Newt hummed, licking at his ice cream and listening to Thomas talk about why Mamma Mia was the best film ever. He nodded absentmindedly, perfectly content to just let the sun hit him an his boyfriends' voice go in one ear and out the other. And then his bliss was interrupted.

"Newt." The two glanced around, the blond almost choking on his ice cream when he saw Charlie.

"Charlie!" he managed after a moment of spluttering. 

"This your Thomas?" His ex glanced at the brunette coldly, Newt swallowing in a despearte attempt to remember the story he'd created, and attempt continuity. 

"Wha- no- this is Tyler, remember?" he offered a smile.

"You two together?" His ex eyed the deep mark on Newt's neck, making the brit sweat nervously. "That why you never called me?" He asked, sounding quite bitter. 

"No!" Newt shook his head furiously, "We're not together."

"Just-" Thomas tacked on hastily, "Friends with benefits." The blond nodded with a laugh, trying to keep it as light as possible.

"Well, you didn't call. You left me hanging and then didn't call." His ex huffed. The blond frowned, trying to look as sincere as possible.

"I'm so sorry, y'know how work gets." he shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded. "I imagine being a secretary is quite taxing." There was something about the way he said it that put Newt on edge, as if he didn't believe that was actually what Newt did for a living. "Look," he sighed. "Just text me if you're ever down to fuck, yeah?"

"Oh yeah." The blond gagged internally.

"Alright." the man winked at the blond, "See ya cutie." he began to saunter away, and the brit turned to his boyfriend with a frown.

"Am I the only one who gets the feeling he knows more than he's letting on?" 

"No," The brunette hummed, watching the man walk away, "I get that feeling too." he rummaged in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a small recording device. "Go after him, get this in his pocket." The brit nodded, taking up the recording device and jogging after his ex.

"Charlie!" The man turned at his name, and the blond internally grimaced, before smashing his lips into Charlie's. He ignored the way the man's hand trailed down and decided to squeeze at his ass, in turn favouring to pay attention to the way he slipped the recording device into the mans pocket of his jeans. This time he played it safe, not ending the kiss right after, so as not to raise suspicion. So he waited it out as Charlie hungrily sucked on his lip, grabbing at his ass and thighs, the blond rolling his eyes and faking a low groan.

When his ex drew back, he was smirking smugly. Newt offered him his best smile.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?'

"Yeah." The man patted his ass again before walking away. The brit grumbled, turning back toward his boyfriend and spitting into the drain. He slumped back down into the seat they had outside the cafe, Thomas holding out a new ice cream for him with a smile. Newt took it gratefully, deciding to ignore the question of wether or not Thomas bought the ice cream to get the taste of his ex out of Newt's mouth, or because he didn't want to watch what was happening.


	24. Twenty-four

"Help!" Thomas threw the door open, Brenda launching herself at her gun and Teresa screeching, falling off the bed and putting a hand to her heart.

"Wha- who's dead?!" The detective asked, reloading her pistol. Thomas put his hands out in surrender.

"Woah- christ, no one!" Brenda put her gun down with a huff, Teresa breathing out sharply.

"Jesus Tom, don't do that!" She sat up, rubbing at her shoulder and slumping back on the bed. Brenda sat back next to her, pausing the movie they were watching. The man slumped down on the bed next to them, groaning.

"What's wrong mate?" Brenda asked, offering him some popcorn. The american sighed, taking a large mouthful of popcorn in self-pity. 

"I need your guys' help with something." he grumbled after he swallowed the food, Teresa perking up in interest, and Brenda raising an eyebrow inquisitively. 

"Yeah?" 

"But you can't freak out." He explained, sitting up as Teresa's frown hardened.

"We won't. Just tell us." she egged, clearly excited to find out what was eating at her best friend.

"Ok, so-" he sighed slightly, rubbing at his neck nervously, "I need to know the best way to propose to someone." 

Brenda choked on her saliva.

Teresas' eyes winded, her mouth opening in a soundless scream, which slowly morphed into a high pitched screech.

"OHHHMYGODTOMWHATTHEFUCKOHMYGODOHMYOGD" She turned to Brenda who was still coughing, and shook her by the shoulders violently, "BRENA HES GETTING MARRIED TOMS GROWN UP HES MARRYING NEWT THEYRE GONNA BE SO-" Thomas clamped a hand over her mouth, shushing her as Brenda recomposing herself.

"Shut up! I don't want everyone to know!" He hissed.

"Thomas- what the-" Brenda tried when Teresa ran out of air to squeal with. "You're getting married?!" She whispered harshly, even though it wasn't that necessary. 

"Well, we will be when I get round to proposing." he shrugged, cheekbones flushing slightly.

"But- I mean-" The detective blinked, trying to take in this news, "You know he'll say yes, right? Like, you've talked about this with him?" 

"Of course I have, I'm not just gonna spring that on him." he scoffed, "He's excited." His voice softened, and he shrugged meekly, smiling fondly down at his lap. Teresa squealed again, Brenda beaming.

"You're all grown up now." She pretended to wipe away the tears, laughing happily.

"I'm so excited!" Teresa screeched, Thomas rolling his eyes. "Can I be a bridesmaid?!"

"Woah," Thomas laughed, holding out a hand to quell her. "Don't get ahead of yourself there Ter'. You're more excited than I am." 

"I'm sorry," she laughed sheepishly, "I'm just really happy for you."

"Thanks." the brunette smiled warmly at his two best friends, who squeezed him tightly in a sandwich, "So what do you need our help with?" She asked, sitting back with a  grin of excitement.

"Well- everything. I don't know where to start, or what to do." he admitted with a defeated sigh.

"Why would we know about this?" Brenda raised an eyebrow. "We're single."

"Well I know, but, I dunno, Teresa's a hopeless romantic, and you give good advice." he hummed, stuffing his face full of popcorn again. Teresa hummed for a moment, pursing her li[ps in support.

"Have you got any idea where you wanna do it?" 

"Not, a place." he admitted. "I know I want to do it at sunset. I'd do it at sunrises because he likes those more, but I don't think he'd say yes if I woke him up at six in the morning." he laughed softly, Brenda scoffing.

'Well, are there any places that are special to you?" 

"Uh-" Thomas pursed his lips in thought, wracking his brain for any ideas. 'No, I don't think so. I mean- our apartment but thats it really." he shrugged.

"Perfect, so use your apartment." Brenda shrugged, the brunette furrowing his brow in confusion and skepticism.

"That's not special."

"It is to you."

"It could be cute." Teresa nodded in approval with a hum. "Like, you could have a nice meal, watch some TV, watch the sunset together, and then whip out a huge ring." she gesticulated the whole event, the american humming.

"Well," Brenda added, shooting her friend a _'calm down'_ glance. "What does Newt like? Would he like doing that? Or would he like some extravagant gesture of love?" Thomas scoffed at the thought, absentmindedly throwing popcorn into Teresa's expecting mouth.

"No, Newt doesn't like having the attention on him. I think he'd much rather order pizza and watch Mamma Mia." 

"Perfect, sorted." Teresa shrugged with a grin. 

"What kind of ring are you thinking about?" Brenda asked, shifting onto her stomach with a cock of the head.

"Uh-" he hummed, "I'm not sure about that either. I don't want to get it wrong, cuz Newt's always going on about colour co-ordination, so I want to make sure he's happy that it goes with his eyes or something."

"His eyes are brown." Brenda frowned.

"Uh, yeah," Teresa rolled her eyes, "Gold goes with brown, so you should get him a gold ring. Green goes with it too, so if you got him an emerald I bet he'd be happy with that." Thomas blinked in confusion, nodding slowly and pretending he knew what all of that meant.

"Or," Brenda countered, "He could get a diamond. Diamonds go with everything." she shrugged.

"I'm not made out of money though." Thomas grumbled.

"Oh shut it Tom," Teresa waved him off, "we all know you could buy Newt a damn diamond tiara with Roger's inheritance." 

"I have to pay for Chuck's tuition."

"It's a ring, it wouldn't make a dent in your bank account." Teresa scoffed, Thomas humming. Brenda frowned, cocking an eyebrow at his ex.

"Don't you want to spend the money on him?"

"No!" The brunette protested. "No, of course I do. I just-" he swallowed, the girl frowning in confusion. The american groaned into his arms, huffing in embarrassment. "I want it to be perfect. I don't want to spend all that money on the wrong ring. He needs to be happy with it. It's got to be perfect." Teresa practically imploded, squealing about how cute it was, and the brunette just smacked her arm, Brenda patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. It will be perfect." she reassured him. "Teresa can help you buy the right ring, she knows what she's doing." she offered with a smile. "And you and me can plan the perfect night."

"Thanks Bren'." he smiled gratefully, rolling his eyes fondly at his squawking best friend. "Thanks Ter'." Teresa threw her head up, determination and seriousness at her eyebrows.

"I'll get the perfect ring!" She grinned, rather like a cat. "It'll be so fucking amazing, he'll pass out in your arms." she declared, Brenda rolling her eyes and throwing popcorn into her mouth. "And then he'll be all over you!" 

"Isn't he already?" Brenda asked, with another eyebrow raise. There was a soft knock at the door, the three of them glancing toward it.

 _"Teresa? Is Tommy in there by any chance?"_ Newt asked from the other side. Teresa put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles, Brenda wiggling her eyebrows at the brunette. Thomas just smacked them both over the head, calling back.

"I'm here buttercup, everything ok?" He asked, opening the door. Newt grinned at him, nodding enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" he smiled. "I just wanted to find you." he shrugged. Thomas smiled warmly at his partner, choosing to ignore Brenda hissing at Teresa to shut up when the girl started squealing again.

 


	25. Twenty-five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: like one homophobic slur used, yikes

"Check, Greenes'." Newt smirked, sitting back with triumph on the couch, Sonya high-fiving him smugly. Thomas groaned, seemingly in defeat, and Mary huffed at the board, cocking her head, in case it opened up a new way they could win the chess game. 

"Wipe that smug look off your face Newton." Thomas pursed his lips toward the blond, who only raised an eyebrow.

"Are you a sore loser Thomas Edward?"

"What can I say," he shrugged, patting his mothers shoulder. "I learn from the best." 

"Well you clearly don't learn from the best chess player." Mrs Norris hummed from where her head was buried in a newspaper, doing sudoko with a frown of concentration.

"Hey!" The brunette gasped. "Thats biased. Only cuz Newt is like, you adopted son-" Then his face dawned in realisation, and he pointed an accusing finger toward the elderly woman, "You taught him how to play!" She only laughed, Mary smacking him lightly on the forearm.

"Don't point, T. It's rude."

"Is it?" He frowned.

"Yes. How would you feel if someone pointed at you?" She asked. Her son frowned in confusion and cocked an eyebrow.

"Normal? Because, pointing is normal?"

"Listen to your mother Thomas, she's always right." Newt hummed, Mary smiling warmly at him.

"Mom! Stop letting the opponent charm you!" Thomas whined, glaring down his boyfriend and sister.

"I'm sorry T, he just has such squeezable cheeks!" She grinned, the brunette groaned. Sonya scoffed, grabbing ahold of her brothers cheeks and squishing them, quite painfully. "Aw!" Mary squealed.

"Snyagtthhelllfffme!" Newt attempted to glare down the younger brit, who only let go and burst into cackles.

"You sounded so dumb!" She laughed, the man groaning and shoving her with his foot. 

"Excuse me?" There was a meek voice behind the blonds, and Newt watched Thomas' face morph from surprise, to fury. He frowned in confusion and twisted around to see who was behind him, only to find his parents stood, looking awkward and out of place. Sonya opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

"Mum, Dad. What are you doing here?" The brit asked, standing. Mrs Norris had lowered her paper, and was now glaring daggers into his parents, Mary's own gaze hardening. 

"Well, we- we wanted to talk to the two of you, dear." His mother explained sheepishly, steeping forward. Hannah looked dishevelled, hair loose, dark bags under her darker eyes, and she looked almost bare without her huge necklace of pearls. Isaac, on the other hand, looked as hard and stern as ever, somehow, giving off the vibe of an even shorter fuse than usual. But that was fine. It wasn't like Newt didn't have the same temper when he wanted too.

"Actually, your mother wanted to talk to you." Mr Newton glared into the back of his wifes' head, before turning a steely gaze to his son. "I didn't want anything to do with your mess."

Newt held his tongue.

Mrs Norris didn't.

The woman stood abruptly, coming to stand next to Newt and his sister, who was shaking with emotion, and placed a reassuring hand over hers. 

"Excuse me, but are you just planning on coming in here and insulting your children, because if thats the case, we can easily have you removed from the building." she offered her usual warm smile at Isaac, except it didn't reach her eyes.

"And who are you?" The older man snapped, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"My name is Avril Norris. I'm more of a parent to your son, than you've ever been, actually." she laughed as if it were a funny anecdote, and Newt reminded himself to give her a big hug after this was all over. Isaac opened his mouth again, but Hannah got there first.

"Well, thank you very much Avril. It's good to know that Newt had someone, clearly, as loving as you." she offered a tired smile, "Sonya, Newt, may we talk somewhere privately?" She asked. Sonya glanced at her brother, and he pursed his lips.

"No." he decided, seemingly firing his father up even more. "Whatever you have to say, you say it in front of our family."

"Oh," Hannah glanced at her shoes, before clearing her throat and holding herself as high as she could manage, seemingly to try and gain some self confidence in her next statement. "Well, I came to tell you something, rather important I think." she took a deep breath. "As you know, I have come to see the error of my ways. Isaac," sh motioned to her husband with a slight twinge of disgust, "thinks differently to me, and has decided that he doesn't want back into your lives. So, he and I are getting a divorce." she declared. 

Newt expected to feel something. Sadness, anger, something. But he didn't. He didn't care what his parents did, because he didn't care about his parents. One glance at Sonya's cold expression told him she felt the same way.

'Now, I know this may not impact you all that much, but, it means, that, if you'll let me," his mother winced in fear of rejection, "I'd really like to become apart of your lives again." Isaac scoffed behind her, rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me sir." Mary stood now, squeezing Newt's hand, "But I don't see your contribution to this conversation, and I think you should leave." Mr Newton glanced at the line of women, Newt stood between them, and scoffed.

"This is why you turned out like this, Samuel. Like a fag. Because of all these women in your life. Babying you. You need a real man, to show you how to _be_ a real man." Newt raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side.

"Doesn't it make your fault then? Surely if it's because I'm surrounded by women, then you should've been around more." he shrugged. "Well, I mean, it's not like I needed you anyway. Cuz I think I'm a real man. At least, last time I checked I was." he pretended to frown in thought, as if to double check. "And I mean, I kinda got a real man anyway." he nodded to his boyfriend, who winked at the blonds father. "And he's a man. I've seen his dick." then he clamped a hand over his mouth. "Oh christ, I said something gay." Sonya snorted, their father red with fury.

"You're going to hell! All of you faggots!" His father spat, turning and storming toward the lobby.

"Oh no, an enclosed space with other gay people, how terrible." Sonya scoffed. Newt watched the tips of his fathers ears go beet red with anger as he walked away with his fists clenched. When the man was out of his sight, he sighed and turned to his mother.

"So Mum, why you getting divorced?"

"Well," she sighed. "I just- I want to be a mother. That's all I wanted when I was young, and then when I had two beautiful babies, I chose my beliefs over my own blood. And that's not right." she decided. "And of course, you don't have to accept me back into your life. I can see you already have a really great support system here." she smiled, seemingly slightly intimidated, at Mary and Mrs Norris, "But if you'd let me try, I'd be better this time. I'd be a good mother."

Newt glanced at Sonya, who shrugged slightly and put up one finger. _One chance._ Newt nodded and turned back to their hopeful mother.

"Alright. You've got one chance." he nodded. She sank in relief, grin wide.

"Oh thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" She swept her children up in a hug, Newt squeezing back slightly awkwardly. When the mother pulled away, she smiled one last time at the two of them, and turned to Mary.

"Hello. I'm Newt and Sonya's mother, Hannah." She smiled a little awkwardly. Mary smiled her usual warm smile.

"My name is Mary. I'm Thomas' mother, and I have another son, Chuck."

"Well it's lovely to meet you." she grinned. "I hope one day we'll be related." Newt blinked at Sonya on that, who shot him a look and nudged hims suggestively. He shoved her as Hannah turned to his elderly neighbour for introductions. Newt glanced around for his boyfriend, and frowned when he couldst see him. _'He'd been here just a second ago.'_

"Hey, have you seen Tommy?"


	26. Twenty-six

"Hey!" Thomas called out, jogging after his target. Isaac stopped dead, turning around with clenched fists and a death glare.

" _What,_ do you want?" he hissed, spit flying from his mouth. The brunette resisted the urge to wince in disgust, instead calmly stepping toward the man. 

"I just-" he frowned. "Do you love your children? Like, even a little bit?" The man's expression softened into slight confusion, and he furrowed his brow.

"You think I have time for stupid questions like that?" 

"Well yeah, actually," The american shrugged at the older man, doing his best to not let his short fuse get the best of him. "I'm fairly certain you're going to drink, or like, do something not very productive. So answer my question. Do you love them?" He pressed. Newt's dad practically growled.

"I can't love faggots and sinners." The older man made a move to turn around, so Thomas added on.

"You say Newt's not a real man." Isaac sighed deeply in annoyance, turning back toward the younger man.

_"Yes."_

"Well, how do you know?" he asked, grasping at straws. Thomas wasn't really sure why in the hell he was trying to turn Mr Newton around. But he felt like he had to try. He had to prove the man that he was wrong about Newt. 

"Because he's always getting other people to fight his battles for him. Always people sacrificing themselves to keep him safe. If he were a real man he wouldn't put up with that. He'd face his issues like a proper man." 

"But he does," The brunette frowned. "Newt's- amazing. He has one of the most dangerous jobs he could have, and I mean, you've got to have some balls to do it. I mean- I- I've seen him shoot a bolt off a door from thirty feet away. And- and I've seen him singlehandedly save a bus heist with a few sentences. He saved my life, more than once. He- he recovered from poison when it should've killed him. He- he had a back up plan when none of us did, and he has set off the fight to win. He's brave, and he's selfless, and he- he'd do anything for the people that he loves. That- that seems pretty manly to me." 

Mr Newton's expression became hard again once Thomas finished his speech, and he rolled his eyes, stepping forward into the americans personal space. Thomas didn't step backward, only raising his eyebrows.

"And yet he's still a fag."

"And he's saved the lives of hundreds! Isn't that slightly more important than who he goes to bed with?" He asked, the americans thoughts literally short-circuiting. He just couldn't understand how someone could value something so insignificant to themselves, over everything else, and all the amazing things that their son had done. Things they should be proud of.

"Well, he's still going to hell." The man shrugged. 

"How?" Thomas felt the low burn of rage in his chest, trying to make sure it didn't rise, but failing miserably. "How can you be so small minded? Your son is a _hero_ , and you don't care. You don't love him. All because of something that doesn't have any impact on your life."

" _My son_ ," Mr Newton practically spat the title, "is nothing more than a worthless, lowlife, piece of shit." Thomas grit his teeth _. 'Calm it Thomas. Newt would be mad if you lost it.'_ "And you know what?" The man continued smugly.

"What?" He hissed.

"I wish that jump had killed him."

Isaac was shoved up against the wall of the hotel in a second flat, squealing in fear. Thomas pressed his forearm into the wriggling mans neck, watching in pleasure as his eyes blew wide with fear.

"Let me go! Please- please- let me go- oh god I'll do anything- let go of me please!" 

"Huh. If Newt's not a real man, then I must have figured out where he got it from." The brunette taunted with a sadistic smile, still resisting the urge to snap the mans neck. "Now you listen here, you piece of shit. You come anywhere, near Newt, or Sonya _ever_ again, I will hunt you down, and turn you fucking inside out. Got that?"

"I got it! I got it please let me go." the man whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Thomas!" Sonya gasped from somewhere beside him. He heard his mother swallow nervously, and put on her most soothing voice, although it was shaking.

"T, how about you put Mr Newton down now." she suggested softly. Thomas' eyes remained bolted forward on his target, who was staring at the others with pleading eyes. "T, please."

"Thomas put him down."

"Thomas leave him alone, please sweetie."

"T, just step away slowly."

"It's ok, deep breaths Thomas."

 

_"Tommy."_

 

Thomas turned his head, and Newt cupped his cheek, tenderly rubbing his thumb over Thomas' clenched knuckles, still holding his father in place.

"Thomas, just calm down, alright?" He asked lowly. The brunette nodded slowly, letting Newt pry him away from the quivering man, who shot backward immediately.

"I'm sorry." The brunette whispered. The blond squeezed his hand reassuringly, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"It's alright. Come on, let's go inside."

"Ok."

-

"What was that all about then, eh?" The blond asked, the american sighing and lying down on the couch. Newt sat next to him, and the brunette put his head on the blonds lap with a huff.

"I'm sorry. I just got angry." he mumbled, letting his partner card through his hair with a hum.

"Well I can see that. I mean why did you go to talk to him in the first place?"

"Because," the brunette shrugged, "I just wanted to try and make him understand that you're amazing. And so much more than your sexuality. I just wanted to give it one last shot." 

"Why?" The blond frowned. "You think I want him in my life?"

"No," Thomas admitted, fiddling with the zip on the blonds jacket absentmindedly. "I just- I wanted to try and give you a father figure. Because I know you've never had one, and I know how shitty that feels."

"Tommy.." the brut trailed off with a sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he hummed, leaning down and pressing another kiss to the americans head. "Your heart was in the right place." he smiled softly. "Just- no more beating up relatives, yeah?" he smiled warmly, "I think my mum shit herself."

"Sorry." The brunette scoffed, tone then softening as he took the blonds hand. "How are you feeling about that anyway? About your mom?"

"Ok," The blond nodded thoughtfully. "We've decided one chance. And, it's more for Sonya. I know she's always wanted something like a mother, and I thought, well, she's making the effort so we may as well give it a shot." he hummed.

"You think she's changed?" 

"I think she's more open-minded now, is what I think."

"And the divorce?" He raised an eyebrow. The blond shrugged carelessly, absentmindedly playing with his partners hair.

"I don't care. Like, at all. They can do what they want. Just means I'll have to see my dad less, which is good."

"Maybe your dad can remarry to someone who'll make him more open-minded?" The brunette suggested with a scoff, Newt snorting.

"Wishful thinking Tommy."


	27. Twenty-seven

"So, Fred's gonna be discharged tomorrow." Minho read off of his phone, Brenda humming with a happy nod as she bit down on a breadstick.

"Good." Newt hummed from his own phone, brow furrowed.

**[To Charlie: Ah, I'm really sorry, I'm not free tomorrow night. But maybe I could come down to the bar when you're working one night and see you? xx]**

"Yeah. Poor kid." Thomas sighed, "it really sucks we couldn't find anything out from that footage he gave us." he picked at his bread absentmindedly.

"Yeah." Brenda pursed his lips. "I mean, I'm still convinced it was Charlie, but you can't really tell anything definite just on the build, y'know?"

**[From Charlie: I don't work until Saturday. And I'd really like to see you as soon as I can. I can't get you off my mind babe xx]**

"Yeah, yeah. And they found no fingerprints? Or DNA of any sort?" The brunette asked with a sigh.

"No, none."

"It's just so frustrating. We were so close." the american grumbled.

**[To Charlie: I want to see you too xx Being busy is sucky, huh? :( ]**

"Well we do know more than we give ourselves credit for. We know, almost for certain that Charlie's involved, and was probably the one who beat up Fred. We have someone who's confessed to actually performing the robberies, and we've taken one of the prime suspects out of the equation. We got far, and then we got stuck." Brenda huffed.

"So how do we get it moving again?" Thomas frowned.

"Find a new lead I guess."

**[From Charlie: can't you sneak away one night? Surely they can survive without you for a few hours? I need you so much more than they do xx]**

"Well that's kind of hard to do when they leave no trace that they were even there after every robbery." His partner hummed, tearing a breadstick in half. 

"You've got that GPS tracker in Charlie's pocket. That'll get us somewhere. It will." Minho assured him.

"Yeah." Brenda nodded. "It worked with Janson and Paige."

**[To Charlie: I fucking wish. They'll notice I'm gone xx If I could get away I would xx]**

"Uh- guys?" Minho frowned from his phone. "We have a serious issue."

"What?" Thomas furrowed his brow, the urgency in the asians voice causing Newt to glance up.

"There's been another robbery." he frowned. 

"But- Ruby's in custody." Newt blinked in surprise, trying to figure this out.

"Then it was Charlie." Brenda shrugged, already grabbing her coat an ushering the waiter for the bill.

"That's not possible. I've been talking to Charlie all night." he shook his head. Thomas turned to him with a deep frown.

"You what?"

"You guys can talk about this in the cab." The woman ushered them up, "Come on."

**[to Charlie: Ive got to go, I'll talk to you soon babe xx]**

-

"That's why you've been on your phone all night?" Thomas furrowed his brow at the blond, coming off slightly accusatory. Newt didn't like it.

"Well, yeah." 

"Why?" The brunette asked, although it sounded more like a demand.

"Because-" The brit was slightly taken aback by the question, "You said yourself you thought he knew more than he was letting on. We were raising too much suspicion. I was raising too much suspicion not talking to him. And now I am, and it's proved useful, because we know he didn't rob it. So there must be someone else involved." he shrugged.

"You were supposed to talk to him, not flirt with him all day." his partner grit his teeth, and the blond knew he was close to the end of Thomas' fuse, but he couldn't understand why.

"I'm doing what I've been told is necessary for the case." he said softly, attempting to talk some relaxation into his tense partner.

"Phone." The american held his hand out and the blond blinked at him. 

"You don't trust me?" Thomas sighed, quite tiredly and glanced at the blonds phone.

"Just give me the phone Newt." The brit looked at his feet, hurt that Thomas seemingly didn't trust him, and put the phone into his partners palm. The american unlocked it and scrolled through, and his partner leant his head on the window, heart pounding.

He hadn't done anything, and there would be nothing on there for Thomas to find, but Newt still had the irrational fear that the brunette would loose his shit. _'This is your fault Newt, you've done something wrong. You messed up somewhere and now Thomas is mad at you. He's gonna yell at you. He'll call you worthless and hit you and you'll deserve it. You did something bad, he knows. He's going to be angry.'_

Newt remembered to breathe when the door he was leaning on opened and Minho frowned down at him.

"Newt?" The blond unbuckled himself and shot away from the enclosed space, away from Thomas, heart pounding and breathing ragged. His best friend was there by his side in an instant, taking him firmly by the forearm. "You guys go on ahead, we'll catch you up." he told the worrying Brenda. Thomas was frowning deeply at his boyfriend, concern on his brow and he took a small step forward, his ex taking him by the arm.

"Leave it Thomas. I know you don't want to hear this, but you're only going to make it work. Minho can work this out with him, come on. He needs space." she lead him away, the brunette shooting one more glance at his heaving partner before the door swung shut.

His best friend immediately turned to him, taking him by the shoulders.

"Newt. Calm down. Deep breaths. Copy my breathing." He ordered softly, glancing down at his chest. Newt followed his gaze shakily, watching the steady rise and fall. He wrapped his hands around his friends wrists, squeezing as he tried his best to copy his breathing. 

_'He's angry. Angry. He'll hurt you. He'll leave you.'_

"Copy it Newt. Copy it."

The brit slowed his breathing, pain-stakingly slowly, and squeezed his eyes shut to try and rid them of tears.

"I'm sorry." he whispered. 

"Hey, what was all that about?" The asian asked. "Is there something on your phone?"

"No!" He shook his head furiously. "No, I- I'd never. I just..he was angry at me, and I didn't understand why. I don't know why he wanted to look through my phone, I haven't done anything wrong! I want him to trust me. I do- I really do." he sniffed, despite his best attempts. "I trust him. I want him to trust me."

"He does." Minho tugged him into a hug, sighing into his shoulder. "He does, mate. And it's nothing you've done wrong. Thomas knows you'd never cheat on him. He just gets anxious about these things. Paranoid. It's all in his head, and it's not your fault."

"I- I guess I just over reacted." he mumbled, puling back and glancing at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Minho hummed. "After Mark, I totally get it." he assured. "But Thomas is a good person. First good boyfriend, right?"

"Right." The blond wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "Right, where are we?"

"We arreee," His friend glanced around for any indication of where they were, besides a crime scene, "We are near," he pointed to a random house name nearby, "Warranty house."

"Warrany?' Newt frowned.

"No, Warranty." he corrected. 

"No, no no, not that." the brits eyes lit up and he grabbed his best friend by the shoulders, "Warrany! I know who the third party is!" He shook violently, before grabbing the asian by the hand and tugging him toward the door. 

"Newt what the-"


	28. Twenty-eight

Thomas couldn't focus. 

He was supposed to be taking notes on the details of the robbery. He was supposed to be listening. But he couldn't. All he could think about was Newt. _'God, what were you thinking? Since when were you the kind of paranoid dick who went through your boyfriends' phone?'_ Thomas would admit, when Newt freaked out, his immediate thought was that there was something on his phone. But he hadn't found anything. ' _Of course you didn't you twat,because he's not cheating on you. He freaked out because of Mark. Fuck, he thought you were gonna hurt him. Look at what you've done. Get your head on right Greene.'_

"Thomas, I know you're beating yourself up right now, but I really need you to focus." Brenda murmured next to him. "Newt'll be fine. Minho knows how to calm him down." she hummed, scribbling something down.

"I made him have a panic attack, Bren'. Jesus I'm a dick." he groaned under his breath.

"Thomas, seriously it'll be ok." She turned to him, squeezing his shoulder. "It's Newt. He just gets inside his own head. he'll be over it in like, three minutes."

Newt virtually kicked open the door with Minho in tow, stumbling after him as the blonds skidded to a holt in front of their partners.

"I know who the other person is!" He blurted out, Thomas blinking in surprise at his composure and dramatic entrance.

"What?" Brenda frowned. "Who?"

"Sheila Warrany, our other main suspect." he panted slightly.

"How do you know?" The asian frowned. Newt grabbed his phone from Thomas' hand, the brunette clearing his throat a little awkwardly at the gesture. The blond pretended not to notice and scrolled through, humming. After a few minutes he threw a picture at them, the three detectives crowding in to see it. 

It was a picture of a younger Newt and Charlie, in graduation robes. Behind them in the background, staring at the camera was a lady, which the brit zoomed in on.

"That's Sheila. She was like, the only mother Charlie ever knew. They were really close, but I'm not sure why or how. He just trusted her, like, with his life. I didn't recognise her at first, cuz she was married at the time. Her name was Sheila Marigold, so she must have got divorced or something." he shrugged. Brenda's eyes had lit up, but Minho looked suspicious. Thomas took the phone back, trying to get a better look at the woman in the background.

It was definitely her.

"How sure are you of this, Newt?" Minho crossed his arms over his chest.

"100%. I remember her. We had like, five conversations, and Charlie would talk about her all the time." 

"Well yeah, but I don't think she's in the right shape to commit a heist, going in through the window, on the fifth floor of a building." He countered. The blond chewed on his lip for a moment, cogs whirring behind his eyes.

"Then- she must be the mastermind. Maybe she's the boss Ruby was talking about, and maybe Charlie was here doing this, whilst Sheila texted me, so as to fake an alibi for him." The three stayed in stunned silent for a moment, the brunette trying to find a piece that didn't fit in the theory Newt had created.

"Thats- thats pretty smart. I mean it works out." Brenda hummed.

"Are you kidding? It's genius." The asian grinned. "We've got a new lead."

-

"Brenda." The brunette grabbed her by the wrist, but she simply nodded to him.

"We'll wait ten minutes." he nodded back gratefully as she and Minho got back in the taxi.

"Newt." he called, the blond glancing up from where he was about to get into the car. "Can I talk to you?"

"But..they're waiting." he mumbled, pointing absently at the vehicle.

"Brenda said they'd wait." he shrugged. "Please? It won't take long." he pleaded. The blond chewed on his lip for a moment, before agreeing and following him to the side of the building. He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck a little sheepishly.

"Babe..I'm sorry." Thomas' shoulders slumped. "I didn't mean to make you panic like that."

"It's ok." The words rolled off of the brits tongue too easily, and the brunette winced slightly at the reminder that Newt had been trained into avoiding confrontation.

"No, no it's not." he shook his head. "It's seriously not. I'm really sorry. I don't know why I'm being so paranoid." he admitted. His partner looked hesitant, holding his tongue for a moment before he said.

"Do you trust me? Like, at all?"

"What? Newt- of course I do." 

"Then why look through my phone?" The blond shrugged at the ground. "That kinda really hurt my feelings Thomas." The brunette winced at his full name. Newt only used his full name when he was upset.

"I know, and I'm sorry." he sighed. "I don't know what came over me. I think it's just this whole Charlie thing."

"I'm not really looking for excuses." the blond murmured to the floor.

"You're right," Thomas shook himself out of his own head. "Sorry, sorry." he gently reached out for Newt's hand, slightly hopeful when the blond didn't pull away and let them brush together. "I'm really sorry Newt."

"I know." he mumbled.

"I never meant to make you panic." Thomas continued, slowly breaking down the blonds walls as he got a soft grip on the blonds hand and drew him slightly closer. "And I certainly never meant to make you feel like you did with Mark." he managed to draw Newt close enough to feel his breath. "Because I love you." The brit shivered slightly at the words. Bingo.

"I love you too." the blond gave him a small smile, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Thomas' waist and resting his head against his chest. The american hummed contentedly against the cold wind, holding Newt close and rubbing his back slowly. Pressing his lips against the blonds head softly, he whispered,

"I really love you." again into his hair.

"You're better than Mark. You're perfect." Newt murmured against his collar bone. "And I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter tonight y'all, but at least my boys have made up and I can go to bed to rid myself of cramps :')


	29. Twenty-nine

"Ok, I got eyes on her, downtown, passing Newt." Brenda came through the blonds ear, head low in his hoodie as he passed the woman. She clicked by in her heels, phone open and distracted.

"You're up Tommy." he muttered to the floor, his boyfriend acknowledging it into his ear piece. As he waited for the go ahead that the lady was where they wanted her to get a tracker on her, he circled the block, chewing on his lip. He passed Thomas once, Brenda leading them in her direction from on top of a roof, Minho waiting on the bench they'd previously decided. 

"Ok, go go go." Brenda nodded to him. Newt slipped into a car, watching the scene from afar as he drummed his thumb on the steering wheel. He watched Minho trip up the woman from the bench, Thomas catching her as she toppled to the floor, slipping the device into her pocket. The asian started apologising profusely like they'd practiced, and everything seemed to be going to plan.

That was until the woman kicked Thomas in the shin and ran in the other direction.

"Fuck!" The brunette groaned.

"Minho get after her!" Brenda ordered, the other detective taking off running after the suspect. Newt resisted the urge to get out of the car to go check on his boyfriend, who was nursing his shin, preparing to take off after the woman in an attempt to corner her when he was given her position. That never happened, because after about two minutes of hearing Minho pant down the line, he heard,

"Newt, Lexus LFA." The blond shifted into drive, pulling out of the space and shooting down the street.

"Are you kidding, that's a sports car!" He groaned, taking a sharp enough right to make the wheels screech.

"Yeah, and you're in a Jaguar F-type." The asian quipped back.

"A Jaguar F-type that I possibly just ruined the tires on." he grumbled, getting sight of the other car, taking a sharp left down the street.

"Your words just hurt me physically." The brunette muttered.

"Let's just hope he doesn't total it." Minho murmured back.

"You know I can hear you?" The blond sped up, drifting around a corner. Newt wasn't good at on-foot chases, for obvious reasons. Car chases though? Those, he could do. And he could do them well.

"Newt, she's making a run for the motorway. Block her off." Brenda ordered. 

"On it." he muttered, taking a different route from the car in front of him and shooting down a back street. He turned into the next street, the Lexus driving at full speed his way. The woman behind the wheels' eyes widened in horror, and she slammed on the brakes, turning the car just in time to make the turn. Away from the motorway. But still getting away. "Shit."

That was when the dashboard lit up with Charlie's name, and the blond swore again. He tapped answer, taking a sharp turns round a corner.

"Hey Charlie!" He tried to make his voice cheery, Thomas groaning into his ear.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

 _"Hey babe."_ Charlie hummed. _"You busy?"_

"Right now?" Newt drifted around another corner, straightening with another wheel screech. "Just a little bit."

_"What you up to?"_

"Oh, you know," the car in front of him made an unexpected turn, the blond just managing to swerve around the corner in time. "Fuck," he cleared his throat, "I mean, just work."

_"You sound stressed."_

"Well, you know how it gets." he laughed lightly, wincing at the sound of the tires.

 _"I could get you to relax a bit if you want baby."_ he murmured down the line, the brit accelerating over a bridge.

"Who does this bastard think he-"

"Ahem!" Newt cut Thomas off in his ear, "yeah, Charlie, I would totally pop over later, but, well, I think you can hear how much I've got to do here. I'm sorry." he hummed casually, twisting around another turn into a back street.

 _"Ah, thats too bad."_ his ex sighed. _"But if you need me anytime, you just call, yeah?"_

"Yeah, babe, course." he winced, making the sharp turn. The lady was expecting him this time though, and made the turn easily. "Dammit."

 _"You seem busy, I'll leave you too it."_ Charlie smiled down the other end of the line. _"See you soon, yeah?"_

"Yep!" 

_"Well, bye babe."_

"Bye!" He ended the call and sped up. So fast that he almost missed the car coming at full speed into the side of him. He couldn't have missed the impact of it though.

-

"Newt!" 

The blonds eyes fluttered open, and he felt a dampness at his forehead. His back was to someones chest, and he was leant in between someones legs, Brenda crouching down and squeezing his hand.

"Thank god." She breathed a sigh of relief, another one coming from behind him.

"You ok babe?" Thomas asked behind him, kissing his head, almost too soft to feel.

"What happened?" He blinked back the spots and glanced around. Minho was stood, with his back to him, arms crossed over his chest and talking to some police about the cars. The Jaguar was _totalled_. It had a car smashed into the side of it, hitting at the back of the car. The front seat that Newt had been sat in was twisted like an old tree, clearly cut open to get the blond out.

"We were set up. Someone crashed into you to try and kill you. It was intentional, and probably Charlie." Thomas sighed, pressing the wet flannel back to Newt's forehead. "The paramedics checked you over, said you'd be ok. Just a few cuts and bruises, said you should take it easy for a few days." he murmured. "Said if the car had been a few centimetres to the front, you would have been killed." 

"Oh, that's not good." he mumbled.

"No."

"So, Sheila got away?"

"Yeah." Brenda sighed, "It's not your fault though. And she hasn't seemed to notice that she's got a tracker. Or, if she has, she doesn't know where it is. So it's ok."

"Yeah, but we still haven't arrested her." he mumbled. Thomas shifted against him, kissing his temple.

"Newt, it's ok. You did the best you can. You did amazing, and it's ok. Just focus on you resting. Let's get you home."


	30. Thirty

"You promise you'll be alright without me?" He asked, pulling on some jeans. Newt rolled his eyes from behind him, snaking his arms around the brunettes waist and kissing at his hips. 

"Yes. Like the paramedics said, it's only a few cuts and bruises." he murmured.

"Yeah, but they also said you should take it easy, and I expect you to do that." Thomas murmured back, messing up the blonds' hair from his waistline.

"Damn, ok Mum. I'm gonna. You gotta stop worrying, go have fun." he hummed. "I'll be fine." The american huffed slightly, humming.

"And if you need anything?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll call you." he hummed. "Go on, off with you." his warmth left Thomas' side, and he sat back in bed, switching on the TV and flicking through the channels. Thomas rolled his eyes fondly, tugging on his shirt and grabbing his wallet and phone. He wandered into the bathroom, messed with his hair until it was acceptable, and brushed his teeth. Coming back out of the bathroom, he strode back over to the bed.

"Right, I'm off." he leaned forward.

"Ok, bye." Newt pecked him on the lips. "Go have fun."

"I love you."

"Love you too." Newt called after him, as the detective shut the door behind him. 

-

"What about this one?" Teresa dragged him to another cabinet, pointing to a huge diamond ring. Thomas immediately shook his head.

"It's too big. Too flashy."

"Ok." she hummed, glancing around a little more. Then she pointed to a large gold ring, with a polished sapphire sitting atop. "This?"

"Nah." The brunette shook his head.

"Too Gold-diggery?"

"A little." he admitted, wandering around a little more. Thomas was chewing on his lip nervously, sighing when none of the rings he could see were any good. He wanted it to be perfect. He needed it to be perfect. 

-

They'd narrowed it down to two. One was a small gold ring, with an emerald sat between two smaller diamonds on top. The second was a silver ring, with a larger diamond on top. They were both beautiful, Thomas could admit that, and he knew whatever he'd give Newt, would be loved and cherished, but he wasn't feeling either of them. Newt would love either, but the brunette hadn't felt that there were any that really stood out to him yet. None were perfect.

"Which one are we thinking?" The woman asked.

"I dunno- the emerald one is gorgeous."

'You want that one?" She asked hopefully. The two had been searching for almost two hours, and even Teresa, who was a shopaholic, was seriously slowing.

"Well-" Thomas felt bad, he knew Teresa wanted to go home at this point, and part of him was saying just to say that yes, that was the one he wanted. But he shook it off and frowned. "No. It's beautiful. They're both beautiful, but neither are perfect."

"Tom, these are the only two that you like, that will go with Newt's hair or eyes." she shrugged helplessly.

"But I don't really care. I think, if it's perfect, it'll go with his hair or eyes. Right?"

"Sure." she nodded, determination clouding her eyes. "Let's keep looking."

-

Thomas did a double take.

He blinked slowly. And crouched down by the cabinet.

"Teresa!" He called her over, the woman kneeling beside him.

"Found it?!" He nodded furiously, eyes locked on the ring. "Which one?" He pointed to it, and she slowly spread into a grin.

"It looks like a sunrise."

The ring was a gold band, with a fire opal pressed into the top. Beside it were two smaller diamonds, much like the emerald one, just so much more fiery, and so much more _perfect._

"It's perfect." he decided. Teresa's smile faltered slightly, and she frowned.

"But Tom, I thought we weren't gonna look in this cabinet. You said it was too expensive." 

"How much is it?" he asked, glancing away from the perfect ring. She sighed.

"Three thousand pounds."

"How much is that in dollars?"

"About the same." she shrugged. "Little less." He chewed on his lip. That was expensive, and quite high over his price limit, but the ring was literally perfect. He couldn't have found a better one if he tried. And he had _tried._

"No, I'm getting this one." he decided.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright lover boy."

-

Thomas bit into his wrap, the two of them sat in a random cafe.

"So what about you Ter'? You seeing anyone?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Not really. Minho and I have been talking." she hummed. The brunette almost inhaled cucumber.

"Wh- I- yo- wh- min- You and Minho?!" She rolled her eyes and smacked at his arm.

"Don't make such a big deal, we're just talking. It's nice." 

"Well shit." he sat back in bewilderment. "How did I not know about this?"

"Because it's not important, and we're just talking."

"Then why did you bring it up if I asked you if you were seeing anyone?" He asked smugly. The woman scoffed.

"Your detective brain is overthinking this."

"Or maybe it's telling the truth." he shrugged with a smirk.

"You're delusional." she laughed, spearing at her salad. Thomas' phone went off in his pocket and he glanced at the text on his screen.

**[From Newt: You've been gone for hours babe. Not that I care ofc, just thought I'd check in. Miss you :'( xx]**

The brunette smiled down at it as Teresa stuffed some lettuce into her mouth.

"Did Newt send you a nude?" He glanced up at her incredulously.

"What? No, why would he do that?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I just kind of assumed that both of your sex drives went into hyper mode when you're not around each other. Like, you balance each others libido out. Like Yin and Yang." 

"Well, no," he scoffed. "he just wants to know when I'll be back." then his brow furrowed. "That's a good point. Where am I gonna hide the ring?"

"Uh-" she pursed her lips in thought. "I could keep it till you get back to the states." she shrugged. "It'll be easier to hide it when you're not living in the same room."

"You'd do that for me?" 

"Of course." she shrugged. "I'll guard it with my life." she snorted. Thomas rolled his eyes and passed her the bag over the table.

"Thanks Ter'."

"It's my pleasure."

**[To Newt: I'll be home in twenty buttercup. You been lonely without me? ;) ]**

**[From Newt: I know what you're implying you dirty bastard. And for your information, I could go agggges without you around]**

**[To Newt: You wouldn't last a day]**


	31. Thirty-one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck, only ten more chapters left??? It's gone so fast?? Ouch I'm procrastinating cuz it's about to go downhill I'm so sorry

"Tommy, wake up." Newt shook at his shoulder, the brunette groaning and shoving him off. "Tommy, come on. We've got an issue." he grumbled. Thomas opened his eyes with a frown, sitting up with skepticism.

"What is it?"

"It's Ruby." he sighed. "She got broken out of custody this morning."

"Wha-" Thomas' eyes widened and he blinked in the new information for a moment. "But- how?!"

"Charlie." The blonds groaned in frustration, flopping onto his back. The brunette sighed, getting up and going to turn on the shower. "Remind me again why we can't arrest him yet?"

"Because he's made sure we can't." The brunette tugged off his shirt, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. "He could easily get a lawyer to explain the money under the floor, and he's made alibis for himself every time something that would incriminate him happened. His recorder isn't picking up on anything out of the ordinary. Neither is Sheila's. We're stuck until they incriminate themselves."

"And what if they don't?" He asked, rolling onto his front as the brunette undressed. 

"They always do. Theres only so long people can go before they slip up."

-

After Thomas was washed and awake, the two drove down to the police station to analyse the cell. She'd been bust out, using the door to her cell. She'd literally walked straight out of the front door.

However, as it seemed to always go with crimes involving these people, the security cameras were no use, all that could be seen was someone in uniform, letting her out and walking her to the door, no face could be seen, and there was no DNA on anything. Newt was searching around for anything around the door, any way she could have gotten out with Brenda.

"It doesn't make sense." he frowned. "Theres no sign of force used, at all."

"Maybe she just got out with the key card." The woman shrugged, sitting back on her heels.

"How? How would Charlie get in here, get a key card and uniform and walk her out of the police station, without raising any suspicion?" 

"I don't know." she sighed, standing up with her colleague. They walked back toward the door, in an attempt to retrace the suspects footsteps. "Ok. So I'm Charlie. I walk in- in a stolen uniform," she theorised. "I knocked out a guard outside, and stole his uniform and key card."

"That wouldn't work." he sighed. "There would be an officer who remembered it." he stood back, chewing on his lip. "Ok. I'm Charlie. I have someone- uh- on the inside! Get her out for me. I never even enter the building." he theorised. She hummed, nodding slowly as she turned over the possibilities. 

"But who? Who does he have on the inside?  We don't know anything about that."

"Uh-" he chewed on his lip in thought, Minho and Thomas coming through the door with a grimace. 

"Well, we found where he got the uniform and key card." The asian sighed. Newt frowned in confusion, cocking his head. "Bastard beat an officer to a pulp round back. He's going to hospital now, lucky he made it." he hummed.

"Jesus." Brenda muttered. "So it was Charlie. He was here."

"Well we can theorise." The brunette hummed.

"Does he have an alibi?" She turned to Newt, who shook his head.

"We weren't texting."

"Perfect. Makes him a prime suspect."

-

"Newt, we need to talk." Thomas sighed, closing the hotel door behind him. The blond tugged off his hoodie, glancing back at his partners unusual tone.

"What's up?"

"Well, you know," The brunette swallowed, sitting down on the bed with a sigh. The brit watched his expression. It was hard to read. Maybe, apprehensive? Slightly, pained maybe? "You know Ruby?"

"I do." he hummed, sitting down next to the man, watching him expectantly. 

"Yeah well-" Thomas swallowed again, the blonds frowning at his fidgeting. He gently took the brunettes hand, squeezing it softly.

"Take your time, Tommy." The brunette sighed a long breath, bringing Newt's hand up to kiss, before dropping it again in his own.

"You know how Min' and I go out to the bar sometimes?"

"Mhm." he nodded.

"Well, one night- in NY," He swallowed, avoiding Newt's gaze. "One night we met this girl. And she talked to me, and she seemed friendly." he shrugged slightly. "And then she started hitting on me and I left. Came home." Newt couldn't help the slightly flutter of butterflies in his stomach at the sentiment that Thomas would rather go home and cuddle with Newt, than go off and have sex with some hot girl. "Well-" he sighed. 

'It was Ruby. The girl was Ruby. And I didn't tell you because I thought you might be upset- and I thought- well it didn't really matter, it's not like it made a difference to the case." Newt blinked for a moment, watching Thomas' anxious face as he tried to process this new information.

"Hang on- hang on," the blond had gone pale, swallowing tightly, "The girl, that hit on you, in _New York,_ was Ruby. And you never told me?"

"Well I mean," Thomas frowned slightly at the detectives reaction, probably assuming the blond would just shrug it off and say it wasn't a big deal. "It's not that important, is it?"

"Yes." The brit frowned, anger already bubbling at his chest.

"Well, it doesn't really affect the case."

"I'm not talking about the case." he hissed suddenly, pushed with a new wave of fury. "I'm talking about me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I know this is a cliffhanger on a really short chapter, but tomorrows will be better (andbythatimeanangstier)


	32. Thirty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck it's late because I've been procrastinating for so long I don't want to dO THIS AAAHH

"Babe, I really don't understand what you're so upset about." Thomas frowned, Newt snatching his hand away from the brunette. The man glanced at his boyfriends furious face, hurt twitching at his heart.

"Because you didn't tell me." The blond stood up, beginning to pace the room.

"Does it really matter that much? I mean, it's not like I went home with her. She's just someone I met in a bar. It's probably a coincidence."

"It does matter." The blond turned to him, eyes ablaze. "Because, this entire time, you have been chastising me and making me feel like I'm a bad person for talking to Charlie."

"Newt, that's different. He's your ex-"

"It's not different!" The brit glowered him down. "You make me feel like a villain for doing what _I had to do_ , for the case. And the entire time, I was open with you, about everything. And I always reassured you that I loved you, and that I'd never keep anything from you! I told you I trusted you, more times than I could count!" 

"I don't understand." Thomas frowned, completely at a loss to why his boyfriend was so upset.

"You have gone through my phone, made me worry, so much, so often, because I thought you didn't trust me. And this entire time. This entire fucking time, you've been keeping something, that not only is important to the case, but also something that you know I'd be upset about, from me! How am I supposed to trust you when you keep things from me, whilst also making me feel awful for you not trusting me!"

"Because you took it too far!" The brunette stood up, fists clenching. Newt frowned in confusion so he continued. "You had to flirt with Charlie. That was your objective. And everything was fine until after you went to his apartment. It was constant! You're constantly calling, or texting him. He is your ex, and you never broke up because you stopped loving each other. Do you expect me to not be worried?"

"Yes!" Newt cried exasperatedly. "Because I make an effort to assure you every single fucking day that I love you, and that you are the only person I want to be with! And that I will always tell you the truth, and never keep shit from you!" He swallowed, eyes watering with tears. "I expected the same fucking thing from you."

"And I give you that!" The brunette frowned, "I only kept it from you because it wasn't important." 

"Yes it was!" Newt snapped, striding forward and pointing an accusing finger to Thomas' chest. "And you know it was! If it wasn't, you would have at least mentioned it! Let me guess, this was the night you got home late? The night you 'lost track of time'?" 

"Newt, you can't seriously be saying that."

"I am!" He began his pacing again. "Because you've kept this from me, how am I supposed to know you wouldn't keep that from me too?'

"I would never cheat on you!" 

"How am I supposed to know that!?" Thomas rolled his eyes. Newt was being over dramatic. "You don't trust me, why should I trust you?!"

"Newt," Thomas grabbed him by the wrist, halting his pacing. The blond glared daggers into him. "I do trust you."

"Clearly not enough to trust me with my own phone." The brit hissed. 

"Well you didn't exactly help yourself when you freaked out after I took it." The brunette growled back. Newt blinked at him in disbelief, and Thomas knew he'd struck a nerve.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The blond laughed in disbelief. "Really Thomas? You're dragging _that_ into this?" He prodded at the brunettes chest again. "You know full well why I freaked out. And I'm not gonna sit here and let you make me feel shit about it because I've had enough of it." he practically spat. "Why didn't you tell me Thomas? Tell me the real reason." he asked sternly.

"I told you why!"

"Stop bullshitting me!" He pulled back from Thomas' grasp, the brunette clenching his fists. "You knew it would matter to me! I trusted you to tell me everything! I thought you were giving me what I was giving you!"

"I am!" he shot back. "I was only trying to protect you. I knew you'd be upset."

"Yeah, and in case you've forgotten how relationships work, we're supposed to tell each other everything and talk about it if one of us isn't happy about it!"

"Well-" The brunette glared at him. "How am I supposed to know you've not kept things from me?!"

"Because I love you!" Newt yelled, pausing to swallow thickly, eyes glassy with tears of frustration. "I told you, that I've been in shit relationships. And I told you, that I would never want to make you feel like that. Like you couldn't talk to me about things. That's why I make such an effort to make sure you know you can talk to me, and don't have to keep anything from me." his voice wavered slightly. Thomas did not.

"Well, you clearly didn't do a very good job if I kept something from you." he muttered bitterly. Newt's rage flared up again.

"Do not criminalise me in this! I tried my best! I always try my best for you!"

"It's not my fault your insecurities get in the way of our relationship!" 

"Yes it is!" The two were full on shouting at each other across the room now, fury bubbling at Thomas, and silent tears running down Newt's glaring face. "Because you're supposed to help me through them! Like I'd help you through yours if you didn't keep them from me!'

"Oh right, so now I keep everything from you _and_ I'm cheating?" He stepped forward. "Newt, get out of your own fucking head! Grow up and realise that I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally! So just get over it! Yeah, I kept something from you! But I've told you now, so let's move on! What is the big deal?!"

"The _big deal,_ is that ever since we got here you've made me worry my ass off because of your over-reacting over Charlie, making me think I needed to do better to make you trust me! Because I wanted your trust, I thought it was important! But, this entire time, you haven't given me a reason to trust you, and have actually now, given me a reason, _not to_! You're a hypocrite!"

"Maybe I would have trusted you if you weren't making goo-goo eyes at Charlie every time you see him!" Newt glared at him incredulously for a moment.

" _What are you talking about?! Are you blind?!"_ He yelled. "The only person I see is you! The only person I have ever seen is you! Thomas, you are the first person I have ever loved, and will definitely be the last! I seriously don't think I'm the one who's letting his own insecurities get in the way here!" 

Thomas watched Newt for a long time. Fuming Newt, with heaving breath, fists clenched and tears streaming down his face. Newt, who even now, was trying to quell Thomas' insecurities, trying, in a fruitless attempt, to make him understand how much he meant to him. Thomas didn't deserve him. He knew that. Thomas had always known that. Newt deserved someone better. 

"I'm sorry." he whispered, stepping past the blond and walking out of the room. Just before the door clicked shut, he heard the blond choke up, hitting the floor and breaking into sobs. 

Thomas tried to walk away. He tried to leave. But he only made it to the elevator before he sunk down the wall, and burst into tears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fUCK LISTENING TO SAM SMITH WAS THE WORST POSSIBLE CHOICE I COULD HAVE MADE I AM FUCKING CRYING UGHH WHY DO I DO THIS SHIT TO YOU GUYS AND MYSELF


	33. Thirty-three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok two points before I start:  
> Theres gonna be two chapters today, because I can't write one tomorrow night, and I don't want to leave you guys hanging. Plus, I really wanna keep writing this lmao, so I've decided to make up for it.  
> And number two: H O L Y FU CK. I am so blown away by the feedback I got on the last chapter, even though I hurt you all lmao. Thank you so much for all the support! <333

"N- Newt?" The door clicked shut, and he felt a hand on his back. "What happened?" The blond was stood up and lead to the bed, where he sat in-between his sister and Mrs Norris. 

"Don't press Son'." The elderly woman advised gently, opening her arms to the man. Newt let himself be hugged, wrapping his arms around her apprehensively. And he cried. He sobbed into the crook of her neck for longer than he could know, until his head was pounding and his throat was raw. She held him through it, rocking him slowly and stroking his hair, shushing him quietly. 

When he was done, Newt was left empty, silent tears pouring down his face and exhausted. 

"Newt?" Sonya squeezed his hand. The blond slowly retreated from the woman's arms, staring at the floor. 

"I don't know if he's coming back." he whispered brokenly. 

"What did you have a fight about?" Mrs Norris pressed gently. The blond swallowed, trying fruitlessly to dry his eyes.

"He- he was always- always talking about how me talking to my ex- which was something I had to do- made him not trust me." his lip quivered and he took a shaky breath. "And- and turns out he's been keeping something from me. He- he- he- he made me feel like a villain, about something he'd done. I laid awake at night worrying because I wanted him to trust me- and- and then- then he did that." he choked up again, crying quietly to himself. "And I don't know if he's coming back!" the brit began to sob again, and so the only mother figure he'd ever cared for, drew him close and let him cry on her. "Wh- wh- wha- what if he doesn't come back?" He cried.

"Newt, he's coming back." Sonya reassured him with a hand squeeze. "You two love each other too much to break up over one fight." He shook his head, sniffing.

"No, no it's not just a fight. This has been a problem since we got here." he cried. "He kept bringing it up- it- it bothers him a lot." he sniffled.

"But he loves you Newt." The older woman reassure him gently. "I mean, Sonya told me you were talking about marriage. Does that mean something to you? Would you like to marry him?" The brit nodded.

"More than anything."

"And did he tell you he wanted to marry you?"

"Yes." he sniffed, wiping at his cheeks.

"Well there you go. That's at least one reason he'll come back." she squeezed his other hand. "He probably just needs his space Newt. He'll be back in a few hours."

-

A few hours later, and Thomas hadn't returned. Newt was still crying, and for some reason he couldn't find it in himself to stop. He had too many tears, too much emotion and too much longing for this to end, for them to make it right again and for them to be ok.

"Can I please send a text now?" He pleaded with his sister. "It's almost six o'clock, and- well- he has no where to go for the night. Please?" She glanced at Mrs Norris, who nodded. The brit scrambled for his phone, hastily tapping out a message and sending it.

**[To Tommy: Please, Tommy, can we talk? I just want to make things right between us, please. I love you.]**

**-**

It was eight. No sign of him. Newt had started to panic, checking his phone every ten seconds and chewing on his nails.

"Newt you're panicking over nothing. I promise you he's ok." Sonya squeezed his hand, the bond swallowing.

"How do you know?" 

"He just needs his time." She reassured.

**{To Tommy: Tommy, please, I'm worrying. Could you at least respond? Just so I know you're alright. Please. I love you.]**

**-**

Eleven. Minho, Teresa, Brenda and Sonya had gone out looking for him. Newt had been ordered to stay at the hotel with Chuck, Mrs Norris and Mary, to wait for him if he came home. Newt was past the point of tears, borderline hysterical, just staring at his phone on the windowsill, waiting for something. _Anything._

_'This is your fault Newt. If you had just kept your mouth shut and not made a big deal about something unimportant, this wouldn't have happened. He probably doesn't want to be with you anymore. He probably hates you. He's probably off with Ruby somewhere. Stupid Ruby. Stupid Charlie.'_

Newt felt a sharp tug of hatred, the cold want to just give them what they deserved. The blond had only had that once before, with Roger, because the man was a disgusting human and had hurt people that mattered to him. People he loved. Newt knew, no matter what happened with Thomas, he wouldn't sleep again until Charlie was begging for mercy.

**{To Tommy: Please be safe. I need you. I love you.]**

**-**

Four in the morning. Mary was sleeping, albeit restlessly, cuddled up to Chuck on the bed, exhaustion having taken over her will to stay up. Mrs Norris had fallen asleep on the chez lounge, but Newt was pacing the room. Back and forth, back and forth, raking his brain for where in the hell Thomas could have gone. The others were still out looking, in shifts all the same, but the brit knew they wouldn't find anything.

_Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas._

His hands were shaking and everything was swimming, and Newt had to steady himself on the wall. 

_Thomas Charlie Cheating Ruby Thomas Lies Bar Truth Thomas Ruby Truth Thomas Bar._

_Bar._

_Bar!_

Newt practically threw open the door, skidding out of it to be met with a weary looking Brenda and Minho.

"Newt- I'm sorry, we couldn-"

"With me. Now."

**[To Tommy: I'm coming to find you. I love you.]**

 


	34. Thirty-four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL. The support. I'm so shook you guys are literally so sweet and suddenly theres so many of you I'm truly quaking lmao (sorry I just clocked how gay I sound) Nah but for real tho, you all give me big dick energy :') <33

Thomas wandered through the streets, heart aching at emotion. _'What have you done Thomas. You idiot. How could you hurt him like that. How could you ruin something like that. You just threw away the best thing thats ever happened to you. He probably never wants to see you again. What have you done?'_

The brunette stumbled into the first bar he saw, the one he and Newt had had their failed date in. He glanced at the table that they had sat at, now vacant and wrong. He slumped at the bar, running a hand through his hair.

"A beer please." he murmured. The bartender grabbed him a coaster, pouring a beer out for him and sitting it a top of the cover. Thomas took it up and swigged it, trying to numb the pain twisting at his stomach. Anything to numb the feeling.

He tried to distract himself, glancing around the more or less empty bar. There was a man with an older woman, sat with their backs to him, chatting quietly. There was a longer man, head buried in his laptop, and a woman, cleaning tables.

Thomas sighed, taking another swig. He took out his phone, staring at it. Should he text? Should he wait for a text? Apologise? Over the phone, no, bad idea. The american swallowed, tapping open his text with his boyfriend and staring at it blankly. What to do.

-

Three beers later, the brunette was feeling dizzy and woozy. He was staring at Newt's contact name, foggy mind weighing the pros and cons of texting him. Of course, in his intoxicated state, he kept forgetting which was which, so eventually he gave up.

The brunette groaned, stomach bubbling slightly. He lurched off of the stool, stumbling his way into the bathroom and throwing himself down at the toilet. He emptied the contents of his stomach, groaning again. The detective decided to stay there for a few minutes to collect himself and clear his head.

His head was pounding, and his heart twisting like a knife. He couldn't stand this. He couldn't stand being away from Newt, not knowing wether he'd ever be let back into the brits life. He prayed that Newt could forgive him, told himself he'd be better. That he could make this better.

Shakily, Thomas stood, stumbling his way back into the bar. He steadied himself on the bar as he tried to sit back down, blinking back stars. _'Am I aways this bad after three drinks?'_

He glanced up at the bartender on the off chance, only to find that the man was staring straight back at him. The same bartender that had served him and Newt on the night of their...drugging.

_Oh no._

"Sorry to do this to you Thomas." the bartender sighed, the brunette swaying. "It's nothing personal, really."

He swerved in a desperate attempt to stay conscious. But it was fruitless. 

The last thing he saw before he hit the deck was his phone light up.

**[From Newt: Please, Tommy, can we talk? I just want to make things right between us, please. I love you.]**

**-**

_"I love you."_

Thomas woke up with a choke, pushing himself off of the ground, only to fall back onto his elbows with a cough. He blinked back the stars behind his eyes and glanced around. He was locked in what seemed to be an old wine cellar, certainly underground, with only a set of bars between him and _Charlie_.

_"You."_

"Oh, hello Thomas." The man smiled. "You're awake."

"You make me sick." he spat, attempting fruitlessly to sit up again. Charlie only chuckled, throwing him a sympathetic glance. 

" _Me?_ " he feigned innocent, making the detective gag internally, resisting the urge to get up and attempt to throttle the man. "But I haven't done anything." he shrugged. "You are the one that ruined your relationship." he smiled, coming closer to the bars.

"You- you set us up! You knew. You knew everything." Thomas quietened in realisation, horror dawning on his face.

"Of course I did! I put a recorder in Newt's pocket when he came to my apartment." he shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie." he sighed, "It would have been a lot less messy if I had just killed Newt with that car, or, successfully gotten rid of you when we drugged you, but alas. We had to go the emotional route."

"You- how long have you been planning this? Ruby wasn't a coincidence?" He asked.

"In NY? Oh, of course not! When I found out you were going to be a part of the case, I knew I had to get rid of you both somehow. You're the best detectives in the world for a reason after all." he shrugged. "So I sent Ruby to tempt you to..stray."

"But how? How could you have known we would take the case before we did?"

"There we are, putting that good brain to use." he grinned, knocking twice on the bars. The door on the far side of the room was unlocked and opened, someone else entering.

"no." Thomas whispered, gawking at the man in front of him. "You! You! We trusted you!" He pushed himself off of the ground, coming, fuming, to the bars. Fred simply sighed at him, coming to stand next to his boss.

"Sorry Thomas." he shrugged. "It's nothing against you, it's just, I've got to make my money somehow."

"Newt trusted you." he spat at the man.

"Newt trusted you, but look where we are now." Fred murmured back. Thomas clenched his fists, growling.

"What? What are you trying to achieve here?"

"Well," Charlie hummed, "we're not exactly hard to find. Newt'll come to get you, of course. We can dispose of him, and then get you out of the picture too." he shrugged. "Then we won't have anyone good snooping around in our business."

"You're evil." 

"How would you like to watch your precious boyfriend get tortured in front of you? Talking about marriage aren't you? Wouldn't it be a shame if you had to watch him beg for his life in front of your very eyes?"

"You fucking touch him I swear to-"

"Ah ah." Charlie smirked smugly. "Watch your mouth _Tommy_ , because every time you threaten us, that'll be another hour of pain we make Newt suffer through."

"You're sick." he spat, fuming.

"You brought this upon yourself. You shouldn't have gotten so jealous so easily, and then none of this would have happened."

"Now, we wait." Fred smiled patting his co-conspirator on the shoulder.

"Enjoy your stay Thomas." Charlie smiled, leaving the room with Fred in tow.

Thomas swallowed, sinking down the wall and clutching his head.

_'Don't come here Newt. Stay away. Stay away. Don't come.'_


	35. Thirty-five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, I'm sorry this chapter was a bit late, I was gonna write last night and then I got really sick so I couldn't lmao. But I'm feeling a bit better today so here we are. Sorry for the delay, thanks for the support <33

"Newt." Brenda grabbed him by the wrist, the blond turning around in a huff. "Where are we going?"

"The bar." he grumbled, impatient to get down there, "That's where he'll be."

"Mate, it's four AM, he won't be in there. It won't be open." Minho squeezed his shoulder.

"But we're fucking detectives. We can just go in." he shrugged helplessly, eager to convince them and look for Thomas. 

"You know we need evidence for that." The asian frowned at him.

"Yeah, we have some." he insisted. "We got drugged there." 

"And what if you're wrong? What if you just waste time going down there and find nothing?" Brenda challenged. Newt huffed.

"I'm right. I know I am."

"No," She continued with a hard stare, "You're going off on a hunch. We'll find him with a actual evidence and clues."

"But-" he tried helplessly.

"Newt," Minho hummed softly, taking him by the hand. "I know you're freaking out but we have to think logically here." he squeezed softly. Newt watched him, biting down on his lip to stop it from quivering. "I promise we'll find him." 

"But- but what if we don't." He whispered, the blond praying that his voice didn't betray him and waver. It was fruitless though, and he choked up.

"Hey," Brenda hummed softly, drawing him close, "We will." she hugged him tightly, letting him sniffle against her shoulder, "I know you're scared. We all are. We all want to find him, and we will. I promise you we will. We're the best detectives in the world. If anyone is gonna find him, it's gonna be us. I promise."

The blond held his breath for a moment, squeezing his eyes close in an attempt to calm down. When his lip quivering stopped quivering, he pulled back from her, smiling weakly.

"Thank you." he mumbled, nodding, "You're right." Minho's phone went off in his pocket and he glanced at it, eyes widening.

"I think we've found the proof."

"What do you mean?" The brit asked eagerly.

"Charlie's recorder and Sheila's tracker both just went off." he glanced up, "Come on, we need to get to the office."

-

Newt frowned at the screen Minho was pulling up. 

"Ok, this is Charlie's recorder." he clicked a button on his laptop, then turning up the volume. 

 _"-won't be long now. He'll come."_ That was Charlie's voice.

" _How do you know?_ " Newt glanced up, eyes widened at his friends, who glanced back with the same shock. That was Fred.

 _"They're the best detectives in the world, Fred."_ Charlie hummed. _"And Newt's not stupid. As soon as he's figured out where he is, Newt'll come running, all guns blazing without a second thought."_

_"You're sure he'll find us?'_

_"Yes, he has too. We're not that hard to find."_ His ex explained. Newt heard Fred hum again, almost able to hear the frown in his voice. The blonds' anger flared up. How could Fred do that? They trusted him. Newt wanted to help him, wanted him to be a good person. He betrayed Thomas. He hurt Thomas. That was unforgivable. 

_"And, remind me again why we haven't just killed Thomas already?"_

_"Because,"_ that was a third, impatient voice, that sounded like an older lady. Must be Sheila. _"What happens if Newt gets out of hand? Charlie knows what a temper he can have, Thomas is the only leverage we have against him, to calm him down, or just to get him under control. We can blackmail him, make him easier to get rid off."_ The brit was vaguely aware of how much he was chewing on his nails, nerves and fury hammering at his heart. 

 _"And afterwards, we can kill Thomas?"_ Fred asked.

 _"Yep."_ Charlie grinned. Minho turned off the recording, raking a hand through his hair. 

"Fuck." He grumbled.

"Newt, don't look so worried." Brenda squeezed his shoulder. "We've got leverage now. We'll think of a plan."

"Where are they?" He nodded to Minho, who pulled up the tracker on Sheila. 

"The bar." he muttered. "You were right."

"Probably best that we didn't go barging in there then." The blond hummed.

"Yeah." His best friend nodded.

"So what do we do? What's the plan?" Newt asked, Brenda already chewing on her lip on thought.

"Well, they're expecting you. Not necessarily me and Minho. That gives us some leverage too." she noted.

"So, we use Newt as bait, we can take them out." Minho hummed.

"Let's think about this." Brenda sat down, frowning. "They won't have him held in the actual bar, since it's actually a public place. So he's probably in a  wine cellar or something. There's four of them, and one of them will be guarding Thomas. I'm assuming it's Ruby, since she want there during that conversation." she explained, "Sheila will be somewhere out of the way, since she won't be able to do anything physical. Fred is still recovering, so that takes him out of the picture for the most part. So, physically, we've only really got to deal with Ruby and Charlie."

"I can distract Charlie for at least half an hour." Newt hummed. "Take the attention off of you." 

"It's dangerous Newt."

"I don't care. I can hold my own for you to get the others out of the way and get Tommy out."

"Are you sure?" Minho frowned.

"Yes."


	36. Thirty-six

"Charlie, you don't have to do this." Thomas muttered through the bars. "Kill me, I don't care. Just leave Newt alone." Charlie smiled at him, sat across the room and staring at him with pity.

"Oh how I wish it was that easy." 

"It is!" He pleaded. "Just let him be. I'm begging you, I'll literally do fucking anything if you just leave him alone. I can talk to him, get him to go. Please."

"Thomas, I wish I could let you do that, really I do." The man hummed. "I mean, trust me, killing Newt is the last thing I want to do. Even if I was just trying to get between you two, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my time with him. I really wouldn't have minded if he'd found that money a little later, and we'd got further." Thomas grit his teeth, yelling at himself to keep it calm, that Charlie was just trying to get under his skin. "That wouldn't have been fun for you to listen to, huh?"

"Let him go." The brunette pushed, determined to avoid the topic. 

"He wouldn't let you go. Not without a fight." Charlie shrugged. "If there was another way, trust me, I'd try it. But alas, this is the only way to successfully get him out of the way. Newt has to go."

"Come and get me then." 

Thomas' eyes widened, and he shook his head furiously at the figure in the doorway. Charlie turned with a shit-eaitng grin on his face, standing from his seat.

"Newt!" He smiled. "I see the others let you in." he hummed. 

"Ruby was more than welcoming." The blond smiled back. Thomas shivered at his boyfriend. There was the coldness again, the coldness that could kill a man and not feel any remorse. A coldness only created by years of pain and cruelness. "Now if you could let Thomas go that'd be appreciated."

"I wish I could do that." The blonds' ex sighed, "But I'm gonna need something in return." 

"And what would that be?" Newt asked, hands on his hips.

"You."

"Me?" Newt frowned, taken aback by the request. "What for?"

"Well, to torture of course." The other man smiled sweetly at the blond, Thomas freezing. Charlie drew a long syringe from his belt, and Newt watched him for a moment, cocking his head.

"A tranquillizer?" He frowned. "What for?"

"Well, just in case you make a move to free your boyfriend, and decide not to come quietly." he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Newt," Thomas muttered, the blond never taking his eyes off of his ex, "just go. Please. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. It's ok. Just go." he egged.

"Thomas, shut it." Charlie warned.

"Newt." The american pressed. The blond glanced at him, putting his hands up and stepping toward Charlie in surrender. "Newt, no." 

"There's a good boy." The brits ex smiled at the blond. Newt watched the target for a moment, before bringing a hand down at his elbow. Charlie cried in pain, dropping the tranquilliser. The blond wasted no time in throwing a punch to his ex's nose, causing Charlie to stumble back with a string of curse words. 

He struck a foot out at Newt's knee, sending the blond to the ground with a yelp, before he made a mad dash for the tranquilliser. Newt scrambled for it, ramming his foot into the nape of the other mans neck, causing a choked cry. 

Charlie scooped up the syringe, launching himself at his ex and wrestling him to the ground. He grabbed the struggling blond by the arms to stop him from moving and attempted to straddle the brit, pushing towards Newt's throat with the needle. The blond grabbed Charlie's wrist, pushing back with a grunt of effort. The other man had leverage though, and kept pushing against the blond.

Thomas' heart was pounding as he watched helplessly, wishing there was something he could do. The two were too far from his reach, and he had no way of getting out of the cellar. Newt cried in effort as he shoved his ex off of him, who yelped, the syringe rolling off to the side.

The blond grabbed it and jumped onto Charlie, who tugged him by the wrist, bending his arm back. The brit began to howl with pain, tears pricking at his eyes.

"Charlie! Stop!" Thomas begged from the confides of his prison. Charlie only laughed sadistically, cut short however when Newt head butted him, sending him sprawling across the floor. Newt got on top of him again, grabbing his own forearm and tugging it backward. Charlie yelled in pain, struggling under the weight. His other hand was clawing at the ground in a desperate attempt to grab something, which ended up being the tranquilliser. 

He waved it backward, Newt diving out of the way to avoid impact. Charlie jumped onto his foot, grabbing the blond by his arm and shoving him into the bars, sinking the needle into the blond's neck. Newt gasped in shock, sinking to his knees the other side of the bars, as his ex stood back, panting, with finality.

"Newt.." Thomas reached out, running a hand over his cheek. 

"S'ok Tommy," he slurred out quietly, "I got cigarettes." his eyes rolled back with a long gasp, and he collapsed onto the ground. 

_'Cigarettes. That means Newt had a plan. How is getting tranquillised a plan? Is that part of the plan? What if he doesn't have one, what if it's just his deliriousness talking?'_

"See Thomas?" Charlie sighed, the brunette taking his boyfriends' limp hand through the barrier. "This is exactly why we have no other option." 

"What are you going to do?" He whispered, eyes never leaving Newt's face. He looked so peaceful. Fuck, what had he done? This was all his fault. And now he was on the wrong side of the bars, and there was nothing he could do to help his boyfriend. 

"Whatever the fuck I want." Charlie smiled smugly, rolling the blond onto his back and cocking his head down at him. "Because there is nothing anyone can do to stop me."

"You put a finger on him, I'll fucking kill you." The brunette spat, hands tightening around the bars.

"But you won't though." he smiled. "Because there's nothing you can do." he shrugged. "Now, what to do first." he hummed. 

"Just leave him alone. Do it to me, do whatever you want to me, just leave him alone." The american pleaded, glaring down his captor.

"Thomas, begging isn't a good look on you." Charlie sighed. "And it's not gonna do anything." he laughed, glancing Newt up and down. "Huh. His ankle's out of place." he shrugged, "I'll fix that." The man took ahold of the blonds bad foot, glancing at Thomas.

"No don't! Please, don't hurt him." The brunettes eyes were locked on Newt's foot, praying that Charlie didn't hurt it.

"Why?" The man cocked his head to the side. "Is this foot sensitive?" Thomas opened his mouth, but held his tongue and glanced at Charlie, who was already smirking. Ok. Don't be specific. If he told the man the foot was where it would hurt most, he most definitely would hurt the foot. _'Think before you speak Thomas.'_

"No, I just don't want you to hurt him. Please. You can hurt me, torture me. Why does it have to be Newt?"

"Because watching you beg is fun enough," he laughed, grabbing the blond by his limp arms and throwing him over his shoulder. "But you whining has become rather annoying, so Newt and I are gonna take this into the other room." he smiled, Thomas watching helplessly as the man left into the room next door and locked the door. 

The brunette felt a tear slip down his face and his nerves kick in so hard they almost knocked him out. Newt was in there, completely unconscious, left to the mercy of a complete psychopath. This could only go so well. He had to get out of the cellar and into that next room, there had to be a way.

His train of thought was disrupted by a commotion in the hall outside, and his heart hammered out of his chest. Thomas prayed that good news was coming. He would pray for a miracle at this point.


	37. Thirty-seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHIDONTWANTTODOTHISFUCK
> 
> Bitch trigger warning we got some damn violence this chapter

Newt awoke with a spluttering cough, his heart immediately racing. He wriggled around a bit, trying to take in his surroundings. He was lying on the cold floor of a wine cellar, wrists tied securely above his head to the bars. There were no exits, other than a heavy duty door that was almost definitely locked. Opposite him, was Charlie, stood with his head down, back to Newt.

The blond's head was pounding and he could practically feel the drugs buzzing in his veins, causing the blond to groan softly. Charlie perked up, turning with a surprised smile.

"Newt! Lovely of you to rejoin me." he grinned, Newt becoming acutely aware of the _huge_ butcher knife being played with in his hands. _'He's actually fucking insane.'_

"This is what you wanted?" He raised an eyebrow, eyeing the weapon. "Just to torture me?"

"Yeah." His ex sighed, leaning against the wall casually, "I know. Kinda anticlimactic. But, I do kinda want this. You keep getting in the way Newt, and I'd be lying if I said it hadn't really gotten on my nerves. I just got to make you suffer now. I bet you know how it goes? Right?"

"Right, sure." he frowned, listening out for any sign of disturbance next door. He just had to keep him talking. That's all he had to do. "You got a plan, or are we just going with the flow?"

"Well," His ex hummed, "I was thinking first, I could make you choke." he stepped forward, smiling smugly. Newt swallowed tightly, nerves flaring up in his stomach. This was not going to go well. "You see, I made a pact with Thomas." The man explained, "Every time he threatened us, would be another hour, you would have to suffer." he knelt down next to Newt, sighing deeply, with fake pity. "He threatened us eight times. You know what that means?"

"You're gonna be a pathetic little bitch and try to prove a point by keeping me alive for eight hours?"

"Talk like that could take it up to nine." The man warned playfully, "I'm thinking: I beat you black and blue, for seven hours, and then take you back out to Thomas for the last hour. Just so he gets to see what he made happen."

"You're sick." Newt spat with a growl.

"Maybe." Charlie shrugged, standing again and sticking a foot out. He experimentally pressed it down on the blonds' throat, causing a sharp intake of breath. The brits ex smiled smugly, pressing down on his throat with more pressure. Newt tried desperately to get some air to his lungs, but it was fruitless, and he started to splutter and wriggle in a fruitless attempt to shake his captor off. 

Charlie watched him struggle for a while in pity, before removing his foot, allowing the blond to gulp in air. Newt choked and coughed, laying back, already exhausted. 

"Do what the fuck you want." Newt growled up at the man. "I don't give a shit, what you do to me." Charlie raised an eyebrow, moving his foot down and pushing all of his bodyweight onto the blonds bad leg. The blond gasped in pain, biting his lip in a desperate attempt to stop a cry. He failed miserably though, ending up screaming in pain. He wriggled and kicked at the man, only making Charlie chuckle sadistically. 

"Are you sure?" The man asked, releasing Newt's leg, making the blond pant with pain, "That sounded like it hurt, baby."

"What happened to you?" He spat.

"Whatever do you mean?" Charlie smiled down at him.

"You- you were a good person. I wasn't ashamed to say I loved you." The blond panted, squeezing his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to ignore the pain in his throat and leg. "You were amazing. What happened? How- how do you become someone like, like _this_?"

"Newt," he sighed, "I haven't become _anything_. I was always this way. I suppose love just made you blind."

"I may have been in love with you but I knew you weren't a bad person!" He snapped. Charlie watched him for a moment, humming.

"And what about _Tommy?_ Is he a good person?"

"Don't bring him into this." Newt gritted out.

"Well, is he?" Charlie pressed, "Is he Newt? Is he?"

"Yes! The best person I ever met!" He cried, a silent tear of agony trailing down his temple. 

"If he's so amazing, why did you fight?" The man challenged.

"You got in the way." The blond grumbled.

"Not really," his ex hummed, "It's not my fault he let his own jealousy get in the way. Jealousy isn't a quality that comes with a god person Newt." he hummed. The blond growled, squirming to get out of the bonds at his wrists. 

"Stop. Leave him out of this." 

"Why should I?" Charlie hummed, "To be honest, I reckon I'm a better person than he is." 

"You could never." Newt spat.

"I think I could, actually." he glanced down at the knife, and then at Newt, with a smile. "Maybe I should give you something to remember that." he knelt down next to the blond, taking ahold of his left forearm. Newt's eyes widened and he swallowed tightly, frowning at the knife.

"Well- go on then. Do it." he swallowed. 

"If you wish." Charlie hummed, taking the tip of the knife to his forearm. 

Newt closed his eyes and didn't think about it. He ignored it and pretended it wasn't happening. He pretended he wasn't screaming in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks in pain. Happy place, Newt, happy place.

_“Oh I am. I do not look forward to kissing you, at all.”_

_“Well clearly not, cuz you haven’t come over here and done it yet. God I really am the brains of this operation aren’t I?”_

_“You wish. You’re the cripple. You make the office diverse.”_

_“Gee, thanks. Really makes me feel special”_

_“You are special”_

_“It’s alright Son.’ It’s ok. I’ve got you, I’m here now.”_

_“I missed you..I knew..I knew you’d come for me..”_

_”I wouldn’t dream of leaving you.”_

 

_"Go on mate, almost there."_

_"Minho I did it!"_

_"Alright, don't get ahead of yourself there blondie, we've still got a long way to go."_

 

"Perfect!' Charlie sat back, admiring his handy work with a grin. Newt choked out a cry, glancing at his forearm. In large letters, the word _Charlie_ , was carved into his skin. 

"That won't heal." he whispered brokenly.

"Yeah, sorry about that babe."

There were three sharp knocks at the door, and Charlie glanced up in confusion. Newt wasted no time in reeling back his good leg and booting the man in the face, Charlie yelping and stumbling backwards. The blond tugged at the duct tape holding him to the bars, wriggling as Charlie blinked back stars.

A particularly sharp tug had the tape snapping in two, the brit immediately grabbing the discarded butchers knife, and getting, unsteadily to his feet, watching Charlie do the same, swaying.

"Alright Charlie, funs over, let's play ball."


	38. Thirty-eight

Thomas frowned at the door, trying to listen to the noise outside, pondering what it could be. He jumped back when Brenda threw open the door, or rather, was pushed through it by Ruby, who had seemingly grabbed ahold of a large bat. Next to storm the room was Fred, Minho ramming in after him, sending a punch straight to his jaw.

Thomas watched in bewilderment as Brenda was shoved against the bars, before kicking out with her foot at the other woman's stomach. Ruby yelped and stumbled backward, the detective ramming her elbow into Ruby's side and shoving her against the bars.

"Give me the key." she demanded.

"Or what?" Ruby spat against the metal.

"Or I'll smash your fucking head open." Brenda growled back. 

"Not a chance." The criminal grumbled, the detective grabbing her by the hair and ramming her head into the bars. Ruby fell limp, unconscious on the floor, and Brenda rolled her over, patting her down for the keys.

"You alright Thomas?" She asked, digging around in the others blonds' pockets.

"Yeah. Charlie took Newt into that other room. He's unconscious." The american explained, his ex nodding as she fished out a small, metal key.  The woman made her way to her friends' cell door, unlocking it and springing it open. That was when there was a holler, and Brenda was rugby tackled by an eighty year old woman, Thomas watching in bewilderment as she began to struggle with Sheila.

"Holy-"

Thomas glanced to Minho, who was currently wrestling with Fred. The ginger was on top of him for a brief second, before the asian easily over powered him and flipped him over. The traitor threw a knee up to the detective's pelvis, causing Minho to yelp in pain and roll over with the criminal.

The brunette was about to go over and help him, when Ruby sprung up, bat in hand, panting like a wild animal. She yelled and took a wild swing at his head, the brunette narrowly missing it as it grazed his temple. Swerving out of the way, he went under the offence, sweeping her clean off of her feet with a blow to the knee.

She brought the bat down with her, narrow misses becoming a thing of the past for the brunette as it whacked him on the head. He blinked back stars for a moment, swaying as the other woman got to her feet. She swung again with the bat, Thomas rolling out of the way, unable to trust his own legs. Then she launched herself on top of him, pressing the bat to his throat and putting her body weight into it.

Thomas' eyes widened and he wriggled under her, unable to gain leverage. The stars in his eyes only worsened as he lost air in his head, world whitening and blinding his eyes as they rolled back.

And then he heard Newt scream.

Thomas had overturned them in a second flat, the woman cursing under him as she went for the bat. The brunette frowned, glancing around in a desperate attempt to speed this up. He needed to get to Newt.

He needed something to keep her restrained. 

"Brenda, have we got anything to keep 'em still?" he called to the woman, who had the older woman pinned against a wall.

"Yeah, I got zip ties!" She threw him one, and he turned back to the woman, only to get hit again with the bat.

He slipped off of her, his head pounding, only semi-aware of the woman standing above him and bringing the bat up again to make contact with his skull. His eyes widened and he rolled out of the way, bat making contact with where his nose had been just milliseconds before. Thomas booted at her shin, causing her to yelp and stumble, but not drop the bat.

She swung again, the man now kicking at her pelvis, causing her to double with a yell. Thomas grabbed ahold of the other end of the bat, attempting to tug it out of her hands. When she wouldn't let it go and pulled back, the brunette tugged harder. Ruby kept pulling, in an attempt to shake him off of the weapon.

So he let go.

All the power Ruby'd been putting into pulling the bat away from him, then went into it walloping herself in the face. The woman dropped like a dead weight to the ground, and the brunette wasted no time in rolling her onto her front and tying her arms behind her back.

When he glanced up, he could see Sheila was taken care off too, only laving Fred. The ginger was backed into a corner, shaking, but, holding a gun. Fear and a weapon. Not a good match. 

Thomas got up shakily, heading over to his two friends. As much as he was longing to get to Newt, he had too make Fred wasn't going to shoot anyone first. That would be counter productive. 

"Fred, it's ok. Just put the gun down." Minho urged for what seemed like the fifth time.

"Fuck- fuck I'm- I'm going to jail, I'm going to prison." The ginger muttered, eyes glued to the floor.

"Fred, just put it down. No one has to get hurt." The asian advised calmly. 

"I just needed the money. I was gonna be on the streets." The man murmured, seemingly to himself, as if he were trying to convince himself that he actually wasn't an awful person. "You don't get it."

"We do Fred." Minho nodded, "Just put the gun down." he made it to the ginger, grabbing the barrel of the gun and slowly taking it from the man's hand. Fred shivered, sinking down the wall onto the floor with a choked cry. Brenda sighed, taking his wrists and binding them like the others.

"Poor kid." She murmured, patting Thomas' back in a _'glad you're still breathing'_ kind of way.

Another scream came through the door. This time it was different. This was gut-wrenching, the kind of scream only pure agony created. The three of them were at the door in a second, ramming their shoulders into the rusted metal barrier. Brenda stopped to knock three times, which Thomas just assumed was a pre-decided signal.

They shoved and rammed, kicked and shoved at the door the best they could, but it wasn't budging.

'Can't you pick the lock Bren'?" Thomas asked helplessly, urgent to get inside the room, that had gone eerily quiet. It made his skin crawl.

"It's not locked. Just jammed." she replied with a defeated drop of the shoulder. 

"Well then we'll just ram it open!" He shrugged, shoving his shoulder into it again. Minho was stood back, chewing on his lip in thought. 

"We need something heavy." he muttered.

"What? We have nothing!" Thomas snapped, stress overtaking him. His friend glanced around, setting his eyes on a barrel of beer.

"Here, Brenda help me with this." Minho rushed to the barrel, the woman following him over quickly to begin to roll over the barrel. Thomas frowned at them, glancing back at the door.

No. It would take too long. He needed to know Newt was ok now. He didn't care if he busted both fucking shoulders.

Thomas rammed his shoulder in, again, and again. Harder, and harder, the door shifting the tiniest bit each time. The pain ran through his entire body, but he kept pushing, kept shoving.

On one particular shove, the door finally gave way, Brenda and Minho glanced up from the barrel. Thomas almost fell into the room, catching himself and glancing into it.

"....Newt?"


	39. Thirty-nine

Newt's grip around the knife tightened, the blood trickling from his forearm to palm making it slippy. Charlie glowered him down and the two began circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

He ignored the throbbing coming from his entire body, everything telling him to let his guard down and just close his eyes. Newt knew he didn't have time for stalling, there was only so long he could keep consciousness. He had to make it count.

So the blond lunged, knife in hand at his ex, knocking them both clean off of their feet. Newt scrambled on top of the man, swallowing.

"Just surrender. Stop fighting me and you don't have to get hurt." he warned. Charlie watched the knife, before grabbing ahold of the blonds' wrist and twisting the skin. The brit grit his teeth in pain, gripping tighter onto the knife in a desperate attempt to keep it in his grip. Charlie kept twisting though, and soon the reflex came, making him drop the knife and jolt his wrist out of the other mans grip.

His ex shoved him off and caught up the knife, immediately going for the blond. Newt's eyes widened and he kept rolling, the knife barely brushing his ear as he moved out of the way. Newt bolted up, immediately booting the other man in the nose. Charlie let go of the weapon in shock, and the blade grazed the brits calf, earning a yelp as Newt scrambled back toward it.

He grabbed ahold of it at the same time Charlie did, the two of them looking up with fury. His ex began to tug on the handle, so Newt tugged back. When it became evident that the man was not planning on letting go, the blond rolled the two of them over and spat right into Charlie's eye.

"Argh- fuck!" He yelped, letting go of the blade again, Newt grabbing ahold of it and shakily getting to his feet again. He swung at Charlie, slicing at his arm as the man covered his face in defence. Charlie swore loudly again, scrambling to his feet and glaring down the blond. 

"This is seriously your last chance Charlie. No one has to get hurt here." The blond tried to reason through pants.

"You had to die the moment you poked your nose into my business!" The man was raging, like a bull, and the blond swallowed tightly. His ex charged at him then, Newt not managing to get out of the way in time. The man rammed his head into Newt's stomach, causing the blond to stumble back, winded, and watch helplessly as the knife clattered to the floor. Charlie tackled him to the ground, the blond landing with a grunt on his stomach.

Immediately, he began to crawl toward the knife, stretching out his arm as far as it would go. But Charlie grabbed him by the bad leg and dragged him backward, a manic look in his eye.

"Oh you're not going anywhere." he laughed. Newt scrambled over onto his back, glaring up at the insane man, who he then booted in the throat, causing him to choke and loosen his grip on Newt's ankle, enough for the man to shake him off and scoot to the knife. 

He grabbed it by the hilt, swerving back onto his stomach as Charlie launched himself at the blond. The knife plunged deep into the mans shoulder, earning a yell of pain. Charlie paused, eyes wide with shock, staring at Newt in disbelief. Newt stared back at him, unsure of what to do.

Banging came from he room next door, loud, relentless and insistent. Newt glanced at the door, taken by surprise, and turned back, only to see Charlie bringing the knife down with a yell. The blond swore loudly and rolled out of the way again, bolting upright and rugby tackling the man side on.

The two rolled over each other for a moment, a moment in which Newt was sure the knife would embed itself into him, besides, he had no idea where it was, but when they stopped rolling, he found himself on top of Charlie, with the knife the other side of the room. Oh well. That would do.

He sent the first punch straight to the nose, the man groaning.

"That was for all the shit you put me through."

Another one to the jaw.

"That was for hurting Thomas."

A third, back to the nose, this time with a satisfying crunch.

"That was for hurting us."

A fourth punch had Charlie spitting up blood.

"And that was for being a horrible person."

Newt noticed that his ex had been reaching for something a moment too late, and then next thing he knew, he had a pointed metal bar to the skull, sending him sprawling across the floor.

When he opened his eyes, Charlie was on top of him, bringing down the bar. Newt shot out his arm, grabbing onto his wrist and pushing against the man. Charlie was trying to impale him with the bar, and it took all of Newt's strength to keep it from going straight through his chest. He cried in effort, Charlie putting his entire body weight into it with a grunt and a bear of his teeth. 

The blond squeezed his eyes shut, and in a last burst of energy, threw him off to the side, consciousness already fading. The blond scrambled for the knife, catching the cold metal in his hands and twisting around.

No more chances.

Charlie ran at him with a yell, and Newt dodged, slipping on the wet floor, realising in horror, that it was wet with blood. He regained his footing and let Charlie run at him again, sliding out of the way. Newt wasn't sure when he'd started crying, but there were tears running down his cheeks and his strength was ebbing steadily. 

His ex ran at him again, Newt swallowing tightly. The man ran at him with a yell, arms outstretched. He knew Charlie expected him to dodge, which the blond made it seem like he would, bearing the knife at the last second.

Newt had his eyes squeezed shut when he felt the impact.

He glanced down at the knife, embedded hilt-deep in Charlie's stomach. The brit looked up at the man's face, shock ebbing away slowly to lifeless eyes. 

Newt had nothing to say to him, as he watched the man he had once loved die to his hand. Charlie sunk onto his knees, landing on his front, face pooled with blood. 

The blond stumbled away from his body, staring at his hands. They were coated red, and shaking. 

"....Newt?"

Newt glanced up, the reality flooding back to him. He sunk onto his knees, and Thomas was there in a second, keeping him from swaying. Tears were pouring down his cheeks, his hands were coated in blood, he was loosing his own, fast, and his entire body was heavy with the effort of keeping him upright.

"Hey, it's ok it's alright babe, I've got you." Thomas soothed, taking him into his lap and rocking him. The brunette's words seemed far away, as Newt stared at his hands.

"It's over." he breathed.

"It's over Newt, you're alright." The brunette confirmed. Newt glanced up at the american, blinking him in slowly. Thomas' eyes were shining with unshed tears, and he bit his lip. "I'm so sorry." he whispered.

"I love you." Newt mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning into the brunettes lips, consciousness fading as his head rolled onto his boyfriends shoulder.

"I love you too. I do. I love you so much."

That was the last thing Newt heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter y'all :') Sorry to leave you on another cliff hanger whoops


	40. Forty

"You don't have to do this."

"Yeah, but I want too."

"But you don't have too." 

"You're not talking me out of this." Thomas crossed his arms and smiled fondly down at the blond, who rolled his eyes and pecked him on the lips, before opening the door. 

"I kinda guessed as much." he laughed, trotting over to the reception. The brunette followed in tow, humming absently as the receptionist verified their appointment and directed them into the back room. Newt wandered through the door with the brunette behind him. Newt smiled, and shook hands with the gloved man in the next room, Thomas then shaking his hand and sitting next to the blond.

"So, explain to me what we're thinking." The man sat back, sketchpad in hand.

"We're thinking a sunrise for me," Newt explained, "and a sunset for Tommy." he nodded to his boyfriend, who nodded in approval.

"Alright," the man hummed, noting things down on his pad, "And how big are we talking? And where?"

"Well, it'll need to cover your left forearm right, babe?" Thomas checked, the blond nodding, "So my right then."

"Ok," the man nodded, jotting down the notes onto his paper, "And how big?" Newt shrugged off his jacket, then rolling up his shirt sleeve, revealing the deep scars, the name Charlie carved messily into the flesh. The man seemed taken aback, eyes widening slightly.

"Big enough to cover this up." The brit hummed, tacking on, "Crazy ex."

"Yeah, really crazy." The man frowned at him, "have you gone to the police about this?"

"We are the police." Thomas hummed. The man blinked, shaking himself from his head.

"Oh right." he glanced at the american, "Do you have one too?"

"Oh, no." Thomas shook his head, "I'm just getting one to support him. Always wanted a tattoo anyway." he scoffed, the man humming. 

"Alright," he cleared his throat, eyes averting Newt's arm, "I'll start on the sketches then."

-

"You ready?" The man asked, "this is gonna hurt quite a bit, you may want to hold your boyfriends' hand." he advised, bringing the needle to Newt's arm. The blond hummed absentmindedly, running his thumb over Thomas' knuckles nonchalantly.

"Did you remember to buy the ice?" he asked, either not feeling any pain, or being really good at hiding it. 

"What for?' Thomas frowned.

"To keep the ice cream cold babe, I told you to put it on the list." 

"Oh sorry. Must have forgotten." The american shrugged. "We can stop at the corner shop on the way back home, it's ok."

"Ok." The blond agreed, glancing back at his arm. "And you remembered to buy that wine my mum likes?"

"Yeah, I did remember that." The brunette nodded, watching the colour embed its way into Newt's skin, "I still don't know why she has to stay with us."

"Well where else is she gonna go?"

"No, I mean, why does she have to come over? You two don't even celebrate thanksgiving." he hummed. 

"She's just looking for an excuse to come see Chuck again. We'll have to make sure she doesn't smuggle him back to England." Newt scoffed, the brunette humming. 

"Does it hurt?" Thomas nodded back towards his arm, Newt shrugging.

"A little bit. It's uncomfortable. Nothing a big, strong bloke like you can't handle." The blond scoffed, Thomas rolling his eyes.

-

"Newt how did you put up with this, it hurts like a bitch." The brunette winced, squeezing the blonds hand tight. Newt kissed his knuckles, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"You're doing great babe. It doesn't take long."

"Yours took forty minutes." The brunette complained, trying his best to ignore the stinging at his forearm.

"Just squeeze my hand." The brit reassured. "Thank you for doing this for me Tommy. It's sweet of you." Newt smiled over their joined hands, the american offering him a small smile back.

"Well I wasn't just gonna let you do this on your own."

"Love you."

"Love you t-ahhh ow."

-

"That'll be $140 please." The receptionist smiled, Thomas slapping down the money on the desk.

"Keep the change." he smiled, grabbing Newt's hand and wandering out of the shop with him. Newt stopped to glance at his new tattoo in the new light, grinning childishly at it. Newt's tattoo took up most of his inner forearm, and it was the skyline, the view from their apartment window at sunrise. The skyscrapers were gold in the light, the sky orange and pink, clouds fluffy, and the sun a large, golden ball. There were no traces of the word underneath, and the blond was practically bouncing off the walls over it. Thomas smiled fondly at the blond, who then glanced at the brunettes'.

Thomas' took up the same room, on his right arm, and was the same skyline. Instead, the buildings came off a lot cooler, the sky a deep purple and blue, the sun a darker orange as it disappeared behind the clouds and skyscrapers.

"Tommy!" Newt grinned at him, practically throwing himself at his boyfriend. "Thank you so much." he smiled, the brunette smiling back at him.

"I love you."

"I love you too." The blond pressed his lips against Thomas' thankfully, only breaking away to gawk at his new colourful arm.

-

"See? I told you it was the best movie ever." The brunette hummed, watching the credit's roll on Mamma Mia. Newt stood from his arm and scoffed, padding his way over to the island to get himself a drink. "Oh come on, are you trying to tell me you won't have that soundtrack in your head for weeks."

Newt laughed, dramatically turning and swooning against the counter.

 _"Mamma Mia, here I go again, my my, how could I resist ya?"_ He dramatically re-endacted, Thomas scoffing and jumping over the couch to skid over to him.

"You can't we've already established this." He laughed, cornering the blond at the counter. Newt hummed, shrugging.

"Eh. I could go without you." The brit ducked under his arms, ignoring Thomas' feigned offence.

"Excuse me how dare you?" Thomas trotted after the laughing blond, heart warming at the sound. "I am the best you are ever gonna get."

"I'm not so sure about that." Newt hummed, sitting himself down on his usual seat, at the windowsill, to watch the sunset. "You're easily replaceable. There are many boys that would be lining up to get a shot with me." the blond imitated a hair flip, the brunette humming and leaning against the wall.

"Then I guess I gotta bag you up now then." he hummed, Newt laughing with his body to the window. "Will you show off this ring to all those other boys? Let them know you're my husband?"

"Tommy, what you blabberin' about-" Newt turned, blinking in the sight of Thomas on one knee, ring in hand. "Holy- Tommy- oh my god." he spluttered, eyes wide. "Thomas, it's beautiful." the blond gawked at the ring, and the brunettes' heart fluttered in pride. He'd found the perfect one.

"Newt, buttercup, will you marry me?" He asked. Newt bit his lip to hide his grin, practically throwing himself at the brunette, toppling them both to the ground. The blond grabbed him by the face and kissed him deeply, the american only smiling against his lips and reciprocating. When Newt pulled away, marginally, he was smiling.

"Did you really have to ask?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BITCHES. IM CRYING IN THE CLUB. ITS OVER AHHHHHHH.
> 
> Ok first of all, yes, obviously theres a new one coming who do you take me for.  
> Second of all, thank you so much for all the support on this fic. There's been an overwhelming amount, and for a story that I was lowkey insecure about, y'all pulled through. Much love :')))) <3333  
> Third of all, as always, ask for some one shot suggestions if y'all want, I'm happy to take em.  
> <3333


	41. Forty-one (one shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Lane for this one shot suggestion, hope you enjoy!
> 
> Suggestion: Ooo maybe like the time in between? Like after Newt collapses in that basement and like later on when him and Thomas are healing or when they wake up or whatever and Thomas sees the name on his arm and stuff like that?

Newt groaned and blinked around, the sterile smell telling him he was in a hospital. He groaned, a hand squeezing his own. He blinked blearily, Thomas coming into view with a soft smile.

"Morning sunshine." he offered a reassuring smile.

"Ow." Newt whined, glancing down. His leg was strung up in a cast, an itch at his shin causing him to groan. Not again. His arm was bandaged too.

"Don't talk too much babe, your throats bruised, it'll hurt." The brunette offered softly. "You're alright. Your leg isn't broken, it's only fractured. It'll be alright in a couple days, or, at least, as alright as it was before."

"Is it over?" The brit whispered weakly.

"It's all over. Ruby, Sheila and Fred were arrested. The stolen art that hadn't been sold on, was given back, and everything's alright. We go home after you get discharged."

"Are you ok?" He mumbled, glancing over his boyfriend. Thomas was covered in small cuts and bruises, neck black and blue as well. Newt frowned in concern, only to whine when it hurt his skull.

"I'm alright, I didn't get knocked up too bad. Min' and Bren' are alright too."

"Good." the blond whispered, lying back and closing his eyes with a sigh of relief.

"Newt, do you remember what happened?" The american murmured, the blond only nodding. "I'm sorry, babe, but, your arm- it's not gonna heal. Not to the point where you can't see it anymore." he sighed sadly, the blond simply squeezing his hand.

"I know." 

"You're not upset?" He could hear the frown in the brunettes voice. 

"No. I can always cover it up." The blond hummed.

"How?"

"Makeup, clothes. Maybe I'll get a tattoo." he opened his eyes at that idea, already envisioning how pretty the designs could be. Thomas cocked his head slightly, humming.

"A tattoo?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I could get something really pretty."

"Not a bad idea actually." Thomas hummed. "It'd have to be kinda big though babe."

"That's ok." Newt shrugged. "I've kind of always wanted one." he admitted with a small smile.

"Alright. I'll try and find a tattoo place back in NY for you then." Thomas smiled fondly at him, the blond offering him a small, grateful turn of the lips.

"Thanks babe." Thomas simply hummed in acknowledgment, before frowning, as if trying to determine something. 

"Y'know, I think I'll get one too." Newt blinked at him, watching him smile sheepishly.

"Well- Tommy, you don't have too." he got out quietly, frowning in confusion.

"I want too. Plus, it's the least I could do. I've been a pretty big dickhead." Newt bit his lip at that, glancing down. "We have a lot to talk about I guess."

"Kinda." the blond nodded.

"But not right now. You need your rest." The brunette leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "Close those eyes and get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Ok" The blond whispered, closing his eyes and curling his hand tighter around his boyfriends'. 


	42. Forty-two (one shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a continuation of the last one shot, I just put it into two parts because they were suggested by different people, and it would've been too long lmao.  
> Thank you to Imp_Overlord for this suggestion
> 
> Suggestion: I would really like to have one where they talk about jealousy-issues and insecurity problems. Because I think they must‘ve talked a whole lot about it and found some solution or a plan to fix this

Over the next few days, Thomas watched Newt get stronger, sleep less, and return to his usual, grumpy, hospital behaviour. On the fourth day, when Newt was finally strong enough to stay awake for an entire day, the brunette brought up the topic they'd both been hoping to ignore.

"So, we should probably talk." He admitted, Newt sighing with a nod.

"Yeah. I just don't know where to start." The blond scratched his chin, Thomas reaching out and taking ahold of his hand.

"Let me start then." He cleared his throat, glancing at Newt's hands with a soft sigh, "Newt I am so sorry. I was such a dick to you, when, you'd done nothing wrong. I took all of my insecurities and just dumped them on you, accused you of shit just because of how I was feelings. And it was wrong of me, and you were right as always. Because you are right, I should've told you about Ruby. And you are right, flirting with Charlie was a part of your job. I just- I'm really sorry. I fucked up, big time, and I hate myself for it." Newt hummed, nodding.

"It's ok. I get it."

"No. It's not ok. It's really not, and you don't have to pretend like I didn't hurt you, because I did, and I know I did. I- I mean fuck- I brought Mark into it. That's just not on."

"Not really." the brit admitted with a small nod. "But Tommy- you know I'd never cheat on you. You do know that right?" Thomas mentally punched himself, squeezing the blond's hand.

"I do know that! Of course I do, I'm sorry, babe, really. I was just mad, and I mean- half the shit I said was complete bullshit. I don't know what I was thinking, I'm sorry." he sighed. "But- I do trust you. I do. I trust you with my life."

"And I trust you." The blond murmured, the american frowning,

"But you shouldn't. After the shit I pulled, I don't deserve your trust. I was just being a massive hypocrite."

"Yeah. You were a massive ass. But I love you, and now you know that you did something wrong, so it's ok i guess."

"Are you sure?" Thomas frowned, trying to read him for any signs of uncertainty in his words. "I just- I don't want something I said to stick with you. I know you tend to get in your own head a bit." he offered softly, the blond shrugging meekly.

"You- you meant none of it? Nothing you said?" Thomas didn't even hesitate to nod.

"None of it."

"Well," Newt frowned slightly, "if it's any consolation, I know you would never cheat on me either." Then he glanced back at the brunette, "Did you really think it didn't matter?"

"No," Thomas sighed ashamedly, "I knew it was important, and Minho- he told me to tell you when we arrested Ruby for the first time, but like a dick, I didn't listen. I just didn't want to address how I felt. I didn't want to admit that I was jealous and angry and- ugh- I was just scared of my own feelings. And they bottled up, then got poured all over you. I should've talked about it with you."

"It would have saved us a lot of trouble." the blond laughed softly.

"Yeah."

"How long had you been feeling like that?"

"Almost as soon as we met Charlie." The brunette admitted, "I talked to my mom about it, I talked to Teresa about it, but I just couldn't shake the feeling." Newt frowned at him, cocking his head to the side.

"Why didn't you talk to me?"

"I just- I don't know. I guess I thought I was being dumb- like I was being petty. Which I kind of was."

"It's not petty if it hurt you that much. Babe, I don't care if you're upset because we- we fucking ran out of shampoo, or- or a shopping bag split and the fucking green beans fell out! I don't care! If it makes you upset, I will listen to you. You must know that."

"I know," Thomas nodded, pressing his lips to Newt's knuckles. "I'm sorry. For everything. And I love you. So much- I mean I really don't deserve your forgiveness, let alone you as a person."

"Well you're stuck with me." The blond smiled softly, "as long as you didn't mean any of it. As long as you love me."

"More than anything."


	43. Forty-three (one shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Anablewup for this suggestion, it's a really cute one <3
> 
> Suggestion: I have a weird one shot suggestion, could you write Thomas meeting with Sonya before he proposes and asking her what ring he should get and “do you think he’ll say yes???” And just him generally freaking out and sonya teasing him and shit and idk

Thomas left Newt in their hotel room, with one more glance to see if he was alright. The blond had been discharged from hospital two days prior, but was still very tired, and had been sleeping a hell of a lot. The brunette knocked on the door next door, Sonya opening the door.

"Oh. Hey Thomas, how can I help?"

"I just wanted to talk to you." he shrugged, the blond letting him in with a nod. He sat down on the bed, next to her, and she frowned in confusion.

"Is this about how to apologise to my brother, because if you haven't done that yet I might punch you." she threatened, the brunette putting his hands up in surrender.

"No, no I have. We've made up, it's ok." the woman hummed, nodding and expression softening.

"So what do you wanna talk about then?"

"Well-" he cleared his throat, glancing at his hands, "When we get back to the US, I'm actually planning on proposing to Newt." Sonya's eyes widened, and then she cracked into a grin. "And i just wanted someone to talk about it with."

"Oh thank god, finally!" 

"Heh, yeah." he smiled softly at her, as she smiled excitably.

"Have you got a ring yet?"

"Yeah, I got it with Teresa." he admitted. "She has it, but I can show you a picture." he took his phone from his backpocket, pulling up photos and finding the photo of the ring. He passed the phone to Sonya, who's eyes widened.

"Christ Thomas. It's beautiful." she grinned up at him, "how much did that cost?"

"Probably too much." the brunette laughed softly, taking back his phone and pocketing it again.

'Where are you gonna do it?"

"In our apartment," he explained, "I figured Newt wouldn't really like it if I did it out with a bunch of people clapping and filming us, y'know?"

"Yeah. He definitely wouldn't be into that." she nodded, Thomas humming in agreement. "So, you're gonna be a married man. Married to my brother." she glanced at him, "You're gonna be my brother-in-law! Oh my god I'm gonna be related to Chuck!" 

"I'm gonna be related to you." he grinned, the girl nodding with a mischievous grin.

"We're gonna fuck shit up."

"Hell yeah we are." He laughed, before her eyes widened. 

"Can I be the maid of honour!?"

"I mean, yeah, most likely. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I need to propose yet."

"Ugh hurry up Thomas, I wanna wear a fancy dress and catch the bouquet, then I can scare Harriet as she runs away from me." Thomas blinked, and then decided not to question.

"You missing her?" He asked, the blond nodding.

"I'm excited to see her again. She said she and Aris haven't been the same without me around." she laughed, Thomas smiling.

"Sounds about right."

"Anyway, who walks down the isle at a gay wedding?" She frowned, Thomas mirroring her expression.

"I don't actually know. I'll have to figure that one out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Low-key saw a ring that looked exactly how I imagined Newt's engagement ring to look, ya bitch was quaking


	44. Forty-four (one shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to anne_newtmas for this cute idea. I know you also requested the wedding, but I'm thinking of doing that as like, the last one-shot and making it as long as a normal chapter <33
> 
> Suggestion: something more in the future, like adopted children (if they are going to have some). Also when they're going to talk about the idea of adopting a kid.

"Tommy." Newt hummed, the brunette glancing up from his laptop.

"Newt."

"Have you," he glanced down at the tea in his hands at the island, "Have you ever thought about kids?"

"Kids?" Thomas closed his laptop, getting up from the couch and sitting on the stool next to the blond. Newt had always loved Thomas for the fact that he could put down whatever he was doing and focus everything on Newt if there was a serious talk to be had.

"Yeah, like, if you want them." The blond elaborated cautiously.

"Oh right." The brunette hummed, "Well, yeah, I guess I do. Why? Do you?"

"Definitely!" Newt lit up, before coughing, "I mean- uh- yeah. It'd be cool." Thomas scoffed softly, squeezing his hand.

"You want kids with me?"

"Of course." He nodded, "I'd quite like a girl and a boy."

"Aw, cute." Thomas smiled, Newt grinning. Then it faltered.

"I just- well- how?" 

"Well, we could adopt." His fiancé offered, Newt humming.

"Yeah. Or get a surrogate."

"Well- what about Sonya?" Thomas asked, "Then it'd have my genes, and yours too." Newt bit his lip in thought, shrugging.

"It wouldn't really though. It'd have Sonya's genes. And I'm not sure if I could let her do that for us. I mean- carrying a child is a lot of work, y'know? And she's young. She might not want too."

"Of course, I'm just throwing ideas around."

"Right, right. Well, adoption might be nice." Newt hummed, "We'd be doing a lot of good. I mean- adoption or foster care, y'know?"

"Yeah." Thomas hummed. "Having kids is gonna be hard though."

"How so?" The blond cocked his head.

"Well, if we were having more than one, we'd have to move out. Get a new place. And we'd have to get a nanny or something, since we wouldn't be home a lot. And- I dunno babe, our jobs kinda dangerous. We'd have to think about a lot. But- I mean let's not rush anything. We still have to get married first."

"Right, right." Newt nodded, leaning forward and pecking the american on the lips, "But you'd like to do it?"

"Yes I would. At some point."

"Awesome!" The brit grinned, hopping off the stool and pressing his lips softly against Thomas'. "Thank you Tommy."

"You'll be a great dad babe."

"So will you." The blond smiled warmly, "The bestest of dads."

"Thanks babe."

"Anytime babe."


	45. Forty-five (one shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two one shots are from the same person, but they were both too cute so I had to do both. Thank you newtmassangster for this first one 
> 
> Suggestion: I was re-reading Fingerprints and I noticed that when Next goes to pet the doggies with Thomas he mentions how much they helped him during his depressed episodes and Thomas says dogs make him really happy, so I just though of them getting a puppy?

“Hey babe?” Thomas called out, cradling the bundle under his coat. 

“Yeah?” Newt called from the bedroom. 

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” The blond trotted out, frowning. 

“I’m going to assume it’s to do with the $900 you took out of our bank account?” He raised an eyebrow, Thomas laughing sheepishly. 

“Yes. But I don’t think you’re gonna be mad about it.”

”What is it?” The Brit frowned, eyes set on the lump under Thomas’ coat. 

“Well, as we were talking about having kids-“

”Thomas did you buy a baby?! You know human trafficking is illegal!” The American blinked at him, shaking his head. 

“Wha- no! I didn’t buy a baby.” He scoffed. “Sit on the floor and close your eyes.” Newt stared at him skeptically, but did it all the same. 

“I don’t trust you.”

”You’ll like it!” He laughed, watching the blond sit on the floor and close his eyes. “Ready?”

”If you put a fucking child on me I can’t promise I won’t scream and throw it by accident.” Thomas rolled his eyes, and plopped the small, golden retriever puppy onto the blonds lap. 

“Ok. Open your eyes” Newt did so, and then they widened. 

“O- oh- my- Tommy- dog- puppy- oh my god.” He picked it up carefully, looking into its eyes, and then he burst into tears. 

Not the reactions Thomas had been expecting. 

“Hey, What’s wrong?” He frowned, crouching down next to his sobbing boyfriend. 

“Nothings wrong! I’m so happy.” He cried. “It’s so cute.” He sniffled, “But, can we keep it? We don’t have the things to look after a dog.”

”Sure we do. I just went out and got them.” The brunette shrugged, Newt blinking at him through his tears. 

“Really? T- Tommy why? Why would you get us a puppy?” 

“Well, you said petting the dogs on the way to Mrs N helped with your depression, and I thought our lives were rather too dogless after they moved away.” He shrugged. Newt leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug with his spare arm. 

“Thank you Tommy.” He sniffled into his shoulder, the brunette smiling. 

“It’s ok babe.” Newt leaned back, smiling warmly at the dog. 

“Hello.” He giggled, turning to Thomas. “Is it a girl or a boy?”

”She’s a girl, but she doesn’t have a name yet.” He hummed. Newt nodded, putting the puppy down on the ground, watching happily as it plodded around, exploring its area. 

“How long have you been planning this?”

”Well, as soon as you told me the dogs had moved away, I started looking. Found a litter of golden retriever puppies, just born. Went round this woman’s house, and bought the one I thought you’d like. You’re not allowed to take them home until they’re eight weeks old though.” He explained. Newt squeezed him tightly, pecking him on the lips. 

“Thank you thank you thank you” He sniffled, Thomas smiling. 

“It’s ok babe.” He smiled. “What are you gonna name her?” 

“Uh- I don’t know.” Newt frowned slightly, the puppy discovering her tail and beginning to chase after it. 

“Hmm.” Thomas hummed, the blond chewing on his lip in thought. He stood up and picked up the dog again, staring at it intently. 

“I know what to call her.” He announced. 

“What?”

”Don’t you think she looks like a Buttercup?” The blond held up the puppy for Thomas to see, and he patted her head with a smile. 

“I think it’s perfect.” 


	46. Forty six (one-shot suggestion)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to newtmassangster for this suggestion again
> 
> Suggestion: I just thought that I missed reading about Minho, Brenda and Teresa in this story (and basically all the side characters) so I thought about Newtmas telling them they're engaged, and the others' reactions.

“Thomas, what the fuck is this about?” Minho asked, hands pocketed. He, Brenda, Teresa, Sonya, Harriet, Mrs Norris, Mary, Chuck and Hannah Newton were stood around in their apartment, Buttercup currently the centre of attention.

“Dog!” The brunette motioned to the puppy, who was very happy to be being treated like a goddess.

“You’re trying to tell me, you got us all round just to meet your dog? And- where the fuck is Newt?” The Asian raised an eyebrow, Thomas rolling his eyes.

“Stop asking questions and you might find out. I promise this isn’t just about Buttercup, ok? Stop being impatient.” He scoffed. His friend groaned and trotted off to pet the dog.

Newt closed the bedroom door behind him, drawing up next to his fiancé.

“You ready?” Thomas asked, the blond nodded and cleared his throat.

“Please can you all take your attention off of the dog for a moment?” He called, Sonya scoffing.

“This better be damn important if you’re asking me to stop petting the bestest girl in the whole world.”

“Around the island, chop chop.” Her brother ignored her, clapping his hands as his friends and family gathered around the island. Newt cleared his throat, Thomas scoffing and wrapping an arm around his waist.

Newt threw his hand down into the middle of the Island, ring very much on show.

“Boom.”

There were a few seconds of silence, before everyone erupted. Thomas laughed, the blond giggling as people grabbed at his hand, trying to get a better look at his hand.

“Woah woah one at a time.” The American laughed.

“T! You’re gonna be a husband!” His mother grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking at his shoulders. Chuck practically tackled him with a hug, the brunette laughing as he saw Sonya and Hannah doing the same to Newt.

Next he got a tight squeeze from Newts family, Hannah offering him a large smile and a thank you, Sonya just cackling with plans of ‘causing shit with my brother in laws.’

Minho punched him in the arm when he found out Teresa and Brenda had been in the loop, but then gave him a bro- hug.

Brenda and Teresa just bounced around and squealed, Thomas actually quite disturbed.

Harriet punched him too, calling him a minx, Thomas wasn’t quite sure why.

Mrs Norris gave him a big hug, whispering in his ear that she would end him if he hurt Newt again. Thomas promised he wouldn’t.

Then they sat down on the couch, Thomas and Newt grabbing the list they’d made.

“Ok, so,” The American started, “Sonya I did look up who walks down the aisle, and we figured, we may as well both. So, Mom, you taking me down the aisle?” He asked, Mary practically lighting up.

“Of course I will!”

“I couldn’t decide who I wanted to take me down the aisle, so then I decided, Mum, Mrs N?”

“Of course sweetie.” Hannah beamed.

“I’d love too Newt.” Mrs Norris added on.

“Maid of Honour, goes to my bitch of a sister.” Newt winked at Sonya.

“AYYY.”

“We don’t have enough friends to have two best men, so we’re sharing one.” Thomas scoffed. “Minho you down?”

“You know it.” He laughed.

“Now the next one is a bit weird. We don’t have a bride, but we still thought it’d be cool to have bridesmaids. I dunno, throw petals and just slay the looks y’know?” Newt shrugged. “Harriet, Teresa and Bren’.”

There were various whoops and cheers at that, Thomas scoffing.

“Chuckie, my man, trusting you with the rings.” His younger brother grinned happily, nodding.

“You got it.”

“And Buttercup can marry us.” Newt shrugged at Thomas, who nodded.

“Foolproof.”


	47. Forty seven (part one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY BOIS ITS THE WEDDING CATCH ME CRYING

"How are you feeling?" Mrs Norris asked, straightening the blonds tie as he took a shaky breath.

"Not gonna lie, I'm shatting myself." He admitted, the older woman smacking his arm lightly.

"Don't be sweetheart. You love him don't you?" She raised her eyebrows, the brit nodding.

"Of course."

"Then what could go wrong?" She smiled, Newt huffing in defeat. Hanna burst into the room, grinning from ear to ear.

"The ceremony's about to start. Are you ready sweetie?" She asked, Newt glancing at himself in the mirror.

"Sure." he hummed, doing up his cufflinks and clearing his throat. Hannah smiled, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'm so happy you're happy."

"Thanks mum." She offered another smile, before going to the door, peaking through the gap.

"Alright, Thomas is about to walk down. We'll wait a moment more, don't want you two seeing each other before you get to the end of the aisle."

"Mum- we live in the same apartment. We've already seen each other." Newt scoffed, following Mrs Norris to the door as his mother waved him off.

"Well tradition is important sometimes."

"This wedding couldn't be any less traditional. Sonya went down the aisle with my dog in a basket." he snorted, his mother just rolling her eyes fondly.

"Alright, let's go." She linked arms with her son, straightening her dress. Mrs Norris grabbed the other arm, pushing the door open. Newt took a deep breath, attempting to silence the butterflies in his stomach as they opened the second door. All eyes were on him, Sonya and Minho grinning at the alter. Minho elbowed Thomas, who was still turned with his back to Newt. He asked the Asian something, his friend nodding with a big smile. 

Newt seemingly forgot to walk, because he ended up being led down the walkway by the two women. He walked past his family and friends- it was quite a small wedding, they had quite a small circle- smiling at Teresa, Brenda and Harriet as he passed them. Mary was sat at the front, with her usual big smile. Mrs Norris and Hannah sat on the other pew at the front, Newt offering Chuck a wink- the boy was visibly sweating with nerves- before he drew up next to Thomas.

"Hi." He whispered. Thomas kept staring at the ordained minister, a small smile twitching at his lips.

"Minho tells me you look gorgeous. That true?" He murmured back as the man at the alter began to talk.

"Might be."

-

When it got to the vows, Thomas turned to Newt for the first time, smiling warmly as he glanced him up and down. Then he cleared his throat, clearly as nervous as the blond.

"Newt." he took a deep breath, "I pledge to you that I will love and cherish you until I drop dead. I promise you, that I will take care of you, and keep you safe- well the best I can with our job-" Newt scoffed, "I promise to stay up with you, to watch every single sunrise and sunset you want, and I promise to be your rock when you need someone to rely on. I promise to do my very best to get one of your cute smiles out of you, even when you're not feeling too good. I promise to always carry you home when your leg hurts you, and I promise to stay in and do nothing with you whenever you want- because I know you'd much rather do that then go out. I promise to be there to dry your tears, and catch you when you fall. I promise to always put extra syrup on your breakfast. I promise to be there, and love you for as long as I live. Because I fucking adore you, and you are everything I could ever dream of." 

Newt smiled at him, tears pricking at his eyes. He could hear someone sniffling- he was fairly certain it was his mother. The blond cleared his throat.

"Not sure I can give you anything as good as that, but I'll give it a go." he smiled, Thomas laughing softly. "Tommy, I pledge to you that I will love and cherish you until _I_ drop dead. I promise that I'll always be there, and I'll always have your back, making sure you don't bleed out on the floor of a town hall," The brunette laughed again, "I promise you that I will watch, and rewatch, and listen to you rant and belt Mamma Mia every day, every morning when it's way too early. I promise to look after you when you do something reckless, and I promise to teach you how to beat me in chess. I promise I'll hold your hand when we take off on a plane. I'll let you wake me up at two AM when you come home, and I'll draw the curtains and cuddle you when you're hungover. I promise to be there, and love you for as long as I live. Because you're my partner."

"And that's what partners are for." Thomas finished.

-

Next came the rings, which Chuck elegantly presented. Newt took the ring from the small pillow, and took Thomas' hand. He slipped it on slowly and carefully.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you."

Thomas then took up his own ring, smiling softly at the Brit. Newt had taken off his engagement ring for the ceremony, his new wedding ring replacing it smoothly. 

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you."

The ordained minster, smiled at the two, clearing his throat.

"And by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband, and husband. You may now kiss." he finished, Newt grinning at his new husband. Thomas smiled back at him, leaning forward and kissing him softly as their family and friends cheered around them.

Newt sighed contentedly against his lips.

_"There is nowhere I'd rather be."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight I've decided this is gonna be part one of the wedding, cuz theres too much to fit into one chapter. Welp hope you enjoyed this, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but we may have to skip another chapter of Reactions to get it out and I'm not sure if I wanna do that yet so we'll see how it goes w e l p hope you enjoyed anyway


	48. Forty-eight (part two)

"Alright, alright," Minho called, tapping his knife against his glass. "Let's get this speech on the road." He stood up, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. "Luckily I am the only one making a speech so I don't have to be compared to anyone." He grinned "Right, damn where to start."

'Alright, I'll start with Newt." He turned to his best friend, the blond giving him a big smile, "I met Newt in some very interesting times. He was in a low place, and I knew as soon as I met him, that I wanted to try and be there for him. But I think what a lot people don't realise is that he was there for me as much as I was for him. Newt being there for me, and watching him rise out of that dark place, gave me a new hope for the future. One of my best memories with Newt, is probably the time I found out that his sister calls him Newt. I know he's never particularly liked it, but I just thought it was a really sweet nickname, and kinda cool. It made me really happy to know that there was a point for Newt, where things weren't bad enough for there to be no time for cute nicknames and silly games. Anyway, there was a moment, where I thought Newt was happy enough, and that was ok. Thing's weren't perfect, far from it in fact, but I was mostly content in where he was at." Minho laughed softly, and put a hand on Thomas' shoulder. "And then this man walked into our office."

'It was just one of those moments, where they walked through the door together and you thought, _'wow, these two are gonna be a fucking force of nature together.'_  The audience laughed, Minho continuing, "And I mean they are. I know for a fact that you don't want to mess with these two. It's not a good idea to separate them." He laughed, turning more to Thomas, "Now, Thomas in himself, is a very interesting character. He's a total free spirit, I mean seriously, nothing can stop him. I obviously met him, when he became Newt's partner, and I just knew we would be friends. In fact, he was friends with anyone. Three days into him working there, you couldn't find one person that didn't want to be around him. He just has such an energy that you want to be around, it's so positive and energetic and just warm. And I think that's why Newt was so drawn to him.'

'I know they will both tell you that they weren't attracted too each other at first, and y'know, I believe that, I do. And I'm not one to believe in love at first sight. But I do truly believe that the moment they set eyes on each other, they just clicked- like a puzzle piece. You take someone like Newt, who had so much love to give, and so much joy to share with the world, who was just with the wrong person, and then you get someone as warm and well- Thomas, as Thomas is, you basically get a huge fire starting. And as much as I hate cheese, and weddings are definitely a cheese fest, it really has been an honour to watch you two grow up and fall in such, pure love. And it has been an honour to be your friend."

-

"Oh my god Tommy you're gonna hurt yourself waving that around." Newt grabbed the knife, Thomas turning from where he was talking and laughing sheepishly.

"Sorry babe." 

"Are you ready?" He smiled, nodding toward the cake.

"Yes!" Thomas put his hands over Newt's, the photographer leaning down next to them. Newt smiled warmly, lining up the knife on the icing.

"Ready?" He asked, Thomas nodding. The brunette pressed down on the blonds hands, cutting a neat line down their cake. People cheered around them, Newt laughing as they moved and cut down again, making a slice. Thomas grabbed a plate, moving the slice onto there with a smile. Newt giggled, swiping his fingers through the icing and smearing it onto Thomas' face. His husband scoffed in disbelief, picking up some icing and smearing it onto Newt's cheek.

"You bastard!"

"Mean!"

-

"What's your first dance too?" Teresa asked, biting into some cake.

"You'll see." Newt bit his lip to hide a grin, as he joined Thomas on the empty dance floor. "This is dumb."

"If you're planning on dissing them, we may have to get a divorce." The brunette frowned, pulling the brit closer as he laughed.

"Never babe. You know I love them." He smiled as Dancing Queen came on the speakers. There were shouts of _'ooohhh_ ' and _'of course, fucking hell.'_ But Newt just laughed as Thomas span him around. The two moved together, spinning and swaying to the beat.

The blond smiled warmly and stared deeply into Thomas' eyes. He laughed as they span and danced, a warmth lighting fuel in his chest. He'd never been this happy. Surrounded by people he loved, people he trusted. And laughing with the person who had made him the happiest he'd ever been.

"Tommy?"

"mm?" He replied, more focused on spinning the blond around once again.

"I'm glad I'm alive."

"I'm glad you're alive too Newt."


End file.
